[lbo-talk] new blog post: a nation in decline?: part 3: an unhealthy nation

Wojtek S wsoko52 at gmail.com
Mon Sep 13 09:39:48 PDT 2010


[WS:] I think comparing the "middle America' standards of living to those enjoyed by elites - as suggested by reference to a "famous Berkeley chef" - missed a fundamental point, namely that most middle American do not envy those elite standards - they do not know what those standards are and they they are something horrible. They think that thier own standards of living - the suburban sprawl, the gas guzzling cars, the fast food and WalMart shopping is the highest living of standards every achieved and envied by everyone else, which is why they hate America.

I have some personal experience in trying to introduce those 'higher standards of living' to middle America - it does not work that way, and at the end it causes resentment.

Wojtek

On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 11:58 AM, michael perelman < michael.perelman3 at gmail.com> wrote:


> Michael,
>
> Excellent point about the food, aesthetics, and the like. What is
> weird is how little social sacrifice would be needed to provide a
> decent life for everybody. Instead, the system is geared to let
> majority of people separate into narrow interest groups and fight over
> scraps.
>
>
> --
> Michael Perelman
> Economics Department
> California State University
> Chico, CA
> 95929
>
> 530 898 5321
> fax 530 898 5901
> http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list