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Shoexgal, I don't know how much of Tocqueville you've read, but the esteemed philosopher has commented on the state of "classlessness" in America -- He hypothesizes that in a democratic society such as we have, we're constantly searching for an identity... I think that consumption of material goods is by far the easiest route to identity.
Other routes to identity: an ivy league diploma to prove that you are part of the intelligensia; a red sports car as evidence of your "fast" personality, to borrow that archiac adjective; a Hermes Birkin to indicate that you live on the Upper East Side; etc. etc.
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