America’s Class System has Gone Mad

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart

Every country has a ‘class system,’ although it is seldom, if ever, a topic of discussion. A thousand years ago, the prevailing class systems were monarchies and theocracies. They continue to exist today but lack the power and influence they once possessed.

Monarchies were ruled by kings and/or queens. Your status in those nations was determined by what rank you held within the monarchy.

Theocracies were and are ruled by a supreme religious leader: a Pope, an Archbishop, an Ayatollah, or a supreme leader by any other name. Those who served their Leader were given specific titles or ranking based on their importance in their religion’s efforts to maintain control over their subjects.

America is a very young nation. Its very existence was founded on preventing a class system, rejecting the very idea of a king or any other form of autocracy, and adamantly opposed to rule by the leader of any one religion.

However, America unintentionally created its own ‘class system’ based on a combination of wealth and power.

I can only tell you the complete truth about the changes in my nearly 80 years, but they have become dramatic in the last 44 of those years. The changes which happened early in the 19^th century, with an economy depending on capitalism, brought us to where we are today.

It is widely agreed that the United States began establishing a society based on capitalism in the early 18^th century. However, understanding its significance became apparent during the industrial revolution, 1760-1840.

Inventions of monumental importance were developed during these 80 years, including the Spinning Mule, the Steam Engine, which led to the Steam Powered Locomotive, Steam Ships and Steamboats, the internal combustion engine and automobiles, and equipment modernizing the agriculture industry, among others, brought rapid growth in every industry. Mass production became a reality. Transporting every type of commodity across the nation became possible.

With capitalism came “leaders of industry” who became wealthy beyond imagination. Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick in the steel industry, J.P. Morgan, finance, Cornelius Vanderbilt, transportation, Richard Sears, retail, John D. Rockefeller, Standard Oil, and others who became the wealthiest men in America became our country’s most influential people, men who were “at the top of the food chain.”

Their power was equaled by the men and women serving in Washington. However, with the exception of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidency between 1933 and 1945, America’s wealthiest men had enormous influence over the three branches of government. Our nation’s motto had become: “profits before people.”

The term “lobbyist” first appeared on Capitol Hill in 1830. As more and more money created bigger and more powerful lobbies, the super-rich gained even greater power in our nation’s capital. As both political parties courted groups with the intention of creating a “base” for future elections, right-wing politicians surrendered to our nation’s richest men and women and encouraged greater participation in governing our nation. Republicans courted the Christian Religious Right, formed in the early 1980’s. Issues which should have remained private and personal, including abortion and same-sex marriage, became “hot button issues.” Republicans used these issues, adding lies and fear tactics, and created a new member to their ‘base.’

In 2015, the biggest disaster in American history rode several escalators down to the main floor of Trump Tower and declared his intention to win the Republican Party’s presidential nomination. Those of us who write about politics knew that this was not a decision made by Trump alone. His close relationship with Vladimir Putin undoubtedly contributed to what seemed to be a totally unrealistic ambition. Trump had zero experience and not a single qualification which would allow him to lead a nation of 330 million people.

The rest is a part of America’s darkest history.

Over the last seven months and 10 days, America’s ‘class system; has been redefined.

The United States has become an oligarchy. The next group of great importance are right-wing politicians. Next are millionaires who control the actions of our nation’s largest corporations, answering only to the CEO’s, COO’s, and CFO’s.

Then there are middle management positions staffed by wannabe millionaires. The working class is near the bottom, with non-white men and all women, considered second and third-class citizens.

Wealth defines your status in 21^st century America.

My wife and I don’t make the list. We are elderly, retired, and on a fixed income. The men and women at the “top of the food chain” are just waiting for us to die, sooner than later.

Prove me wrong.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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Sources: https://letsgo499.blog/2025/01/25/understanding-oligarchy-the-role-of-capitalism-and-power/

https://fpa.org/from-capitalism-to-oligarchy-what-piketty-tells-us-about-ukraine/