I would confirm this take. I would also say that "upper class" in modern european terms, refers to something different then in other times... or possibly in the US. We have a more cultural take on class. It's not just about income.
First, our cutoff for "elites" is a lot lower. This is sometimes reflected in proposed laws. For example, when France implemented a wealth tax, they set the cuttoff around €1m. Other laws and proposed laws around europe tend to have a similar take. In US equivalents, thresholds are proposed aropund $50m-$1bn.
Here in Ireland, the top thresholds of income tax are near (even below) median full time income... €44k. Also, our public housing system houses around 20% of the population. The quality of housing is better than the lower end of private rentals... which tend to house employees of Google FB, etc.
Meanwhile, there's a lot more emphasis on cultural divide here. In the UK, the "anywhere vs somewhere's" is a popular take on modern class division. Anywhere's being internationally oriented, college educated people. Somewhere's being locally oriented. It corresponds to a more evergreen take: professional class vs working class.
In both cases, the income gaps are smaller than the cultural gaps. A college graduate working in Google account management for €35k can earn half what a plumber earns, but the class divide is still what it is. This is actually a significant dynamic in Ireland now. We have a lot of middle-income white collar jobs at international tech companies, with questionable long term security. We have a lot of higher paying blue collar jobs, mostly construction adjacent.
Often, the economic differences between classes just comes down to neighborhoods, property wealth and accumulated family wealth... not necessarily income. Often, but not always. The lowest 25% income families tend to be distinctly, and proudly working class. The genuinely wealthy tend to be upper class.
Class is complicated in europe. It can be quasi-ethnic, with accents, body language and cultural subtleties playing a big role. It doesn't correspond neatly to income.
the economic differences between classes just comes down to neighborhoods, property wealth and accumulated family wealth... not necessarily income.
In the long run salaries (incomes) tend to subsistence levels, capital dwarves labor and it all comes down to "accumulated family wealth". That's the normal. Postwar raised the relative value of labor for a while but that cycle is coming to an end.
I would confirm this take. I would also say that "upper class" in modern european terms, refers to something different then in other times... or possibly in the US. We have a more cultural take on class. It's not just about income.
First, our cutoff for "elites" is a lot lower. This is sometimes reflected in proposed laws. For example, when France implemented a wealth tax, they set the cuttoff around €1m. Other laws and proposed laws around europe tend to have a similar take. In US equivalents, thresholds are proposed aropund $50m-$1bn.
Here in Ireland, the top thresholds of income tax are near (even below) median full time income... €44k. Also, our public housing system houses around 20% of the population. The quality of housing is better than the lower end of private rentals... which tend to house employees of Google FB, etc.
Meanwhile, there's a lot more emphasis on cultural divide here. In the UK, the "anywhere vs somewhere's" is a popular take on modern class division. Anywhere's being internationally oriented, college educated people. Somewhere's being locally oriented. It corresponds to a more evergreen take: professional class vs working class.
In both cases, the income gaps are smaller than the cultural gaps. A college graduate working in Google account management for €35k can earn half what a plumber earns, but the class divide is still what it is. This is actually a significant dynamic in Ireland now. We have a lot of middle-income white collar jobs at international tech companies, with questionable long term security. We have a lot of higher paying blue collar jobs, mostly construction adjacent.
Often, the economic differences between classes just comes down to neighborhoods, property wealth and accumulated family wealth... not necessarily income. Often, but not always. The lowest 25% income families tend to be distinctly, and proudly working class. The genuinely wealthy tend to be upper class.
Class is complicated in europe. It can be quasi-ethnic, with accents, body language and cultural subtleties playing a big role. It doesn't correspond neatly to income.