Reply #197: mstinamotorcity, your comments are right on in many respects.

[bertman]

It's part of the "human condition", I believe, that we are never happy with what we have and rarely see how well off we are compared to others who are less fortunate. A psychologist or psychiatrist would probably have a name for that condition, but I don't know what it is. The result is that we seem to feel compelled to get MORE, whether it's money, land, or possessions or travel or food, even when we already have enough. Maybe it's only an attribute of large civilizations, but it does seem to be the norm for all of the ones I'm aware of, be they east or west, north or south on the globe.

I take issue with your comment that "The working class nor the poor do not begrudge the rich, we just want those who are in that position remember it is us who gets them there. And it is us who can take them down." Judging from many comments here on DU, there are a LOT of poor and working class folks who do begrudge the rich, which to me is totally understandable given the current economic crisis and how it has been brought down upon us. When those discussions crop us, it's always interesting to see what is "rich" and what is an acceptable level of personal wealth. (But that's a topic for another thread)

While it does take workers to get the rich their riches, the system as it is now structured--by design--makes it very unlikely that we could somehow take them down. It would take a massive, coordinated effort the likes of which has yet to be seen and which would be stymied by the security state that the elites have built for their protection. Another massive economic devastation like the Great Depression (unlike this Not-So-Great-Depression we are experiencing) could be a catalyst for social upheaval. But it's important to note how quickly the elites headed that off. And how did they do it? By giving themselves Trillions of dollars of loans from the working class folks who pay taxes. Certainly a major influence on the Obama campaign and the Obama administration was how to prevent a massive financial cataclysm that would destroy the riches of the elites and in turn, the stability and well-being of all of us--Americans and others around the world.