I've been reading the recent series on class in America in the NYT and have been really pleased with what I've been seeing. One thing that is particularly interesting is how different we are than the Europeans. Here, we have a sense that there are no classes, a person can move up if they are smart and work hard and the poor and middle class (through churches and other charities) to fund the majority of social services. In Europe, there are explicit classes, you're given that class from birth and the rich fund the majority of social services through progressive taxes. What is it about getting the goods from birth that would make a society more likely to support their least fortunate? I think I'll do some more digging on this in the coming weeks. Fascinating!D