That makes more sense. In the US, the majority of people consider themselves “middle class” despite a huge and undefined range of income and material conditions. It’s pretty much a way to flatten the idea of class to avoid the need of class struggle. It also has its own built in caste hierarchy (upper lower middle class, lower upper middle class, etc...) That way we’re simultaneously “on the same team” but still have distinction to make us feel better than whoever’s on the rung below you.
So the whole thing is complicated because in some areas people making 50k a year can move into the ownership class at least by the metrics required to be considered middle class. In others that amount is far higher than that. Lower middle class makes sense as a comment on that some people own their homes but outside of that would just be poor.
This said though, what we call upper middle class in American parlance is literally just what being middle class is in other parts of the world.
That makes more sense. In the US, the majority of people consider themselves “middle class” despite a huge and undefined range of income and material conditions. It’s pretty much a way to flatten the idea of class to avoid the need of class struggle. It also has its own built in caste hierarchy (upper lower middle class, lower upper middle class, etc...) That way we’re simultaneously “on the same team” but still have distinction to make us feel better than whoever’s on the rung below you.
So the whole thing is complicated because in some areas people making 50k a year can move into the ownership class at least by the metrics required to be considered middle class. In others that amount is far higher than that. Lower middle class makes sense as a comment on that some people own their homes but outside of that would just be poor.
This said though, what we call upper middle class in American parlance is literally just what being middle class is in other parts of the world.