The following was a letter to the Wall Street Journal by Jonathan Kahnoski:

When the American intelligentsia bought the whole Marxist-Leninist vocabulary back in the 1920s and 1930s, they bought into the idea of social classes. Marxism-Leninism is a product of the European experience, with its long history of often rigid social classes (royalty, nobility, bourgeoisie, etc.). This vocabulary has had great appeal to Europeans, especially on the Continent. Today, Europeans claim their societies are more egalitarian than America's because of their social welfare programs, while completely overlooking how stationary their citizens are both geographically (what Frenchman will leave his birthplace to take a better job?) and socially (can a "working class" German aspire to a university education or obtain a bachelor's or master's later in life?).

The American experience has been quite different. From the colonial period on, the ideal of America was to free the individual from the artificial constraints of social class. In America, so the pitch went, every person was able to pursue his dreams, whatever they might be, without regard to family or place of birth. It is true that America's fulfillment of that dream has been imperfect, but not nearly as imperfect as the American intelligentsia would have us believe. Indeed, it might be that more Americans would strive and succeed if there was less talk about class barriers and more talk about freedom.

This is not to argue that every plumber mistakes his wrench for a scepter. The same working stiff who takes offense at being called "working class" is quite comfortable being called "blue collar." It is easy to understand why. A class is something you are born into, and trapped in--concepts completely antithetical to the American self-image. A collar, blue or white, is something a person chooses for himself--a concept congruent with the American ideal.

It is puzzling that so many American academics do not understand the great gulf between the European experience and the American experience. It is as if they say: Americans mostly are the descendants of white Europeans, therefore most Americans must think and feel and perceive themselves the same way Europeans do. The simplicity of this line of thought is tempting, but it demonstrates how little these otherwise highly educated and well-traveled people know about their fellow Americans. Perhaps they would feel more at home in Europe?

Thus, as you say, some janitors and secretaries and carpenters are insulted when they are referred to as "working class." However, perhaps most ignore the term because they don't associate themselves with "working class" or any other "class." They may agree they wear a white collar or a blue collar, practice a trade or a profession, but these they do by choice. They also will insist they are born-free, "jen-u-ine" Grade A, USDA Choice Americans and they don't know what class you are talking about. Bully for them!

For the record I totally agree with Jonathan.

What I find enlightening is his keen observation that the Europeans just do not understand America!  And they dont!  But what is more enlightening is that the Democrats fall into the same trap!  They try class warfare and then do not understand when it does not work.

It does not work because class as we know it here in the States is not Class as the Europeans understand it.  We dont have Classes.  We have are not born into a station in life!  Some of the richest people in this country were not born rich, and hence they were not born as part of the 'upper class'.

The 'classes' we have in this country are simply economic stratas created by the government on a bell curve.  So there will always be a lower income class or strata as they will always represent the left of the curve.  Just as there will always be an 'upper class' (strata) because there will always be some on the right.  But the ones on the left, right and middle of the bell curve are not condemend to that station all of their life.  Indeed most move in and out of one or 2 of the stratas during the course of their life.

Who has not been poor when first starting out in life?  Did you stay there, or work your way up into the middle strata?

But Europeans, with their snotty aristrocracy, cannot understand a class less society and never will.  That is not surprising.  They have no reference point to understand it.

But the democrats are another matter entirely.  They fully understand the classlessness of America, but try to fool us into thinking we really do have immobile classes like the Europeans.

Problem is, Americans are getting smarter, so their treating us as stupid idiots does not work as well as it use to.

That is good for America, and bad for Democrats.