Classlessness in America

“DO YOU recognise the irreconcilable class antagonism between workers and capitalists that exists under the present economic system?” That is question one on the membership application form of the Socialist Labour Party of America. A helpful note explains that all questions must be answered Yes for an application to be considered. This insistence on ideological purity may explain why the fortunes of the party have disappointed of late. Though it can trace its history as far back as 1876, when it was known as the Workingmen's Party, no less an authority than Wikipedia pronounces it “moribund”.

Paul Ryan, the Republican chairman of the budget committee in the House of Representatives, accused Barack Obama this week of waging “class warfare” by suggesting that millionaires should pay at least the same rate of tax as the common man. But, really, would any president risk declaring class war and following the Workingmen's Party into oblivion? Not only is social class supposed not to exist in America, it is almost a dirty word—“America's forbidden thought”, in the words of one sociologist.