@"That is comparing apples to oranges. A deer is an animal. Donald Trump is a human. Humans are given human rights, while animals are given animal rights. The two have always been different. So while it is ok to kill a deer, it is not ok to kill a human"
I disagree, I am a vegetarian specifically because i don't believe there is such a difference, and I would love to hear how you justify your position.
@"I'm not saying that what constitues what the middle class is is arbitrary (although I'm sure there is some debate about where each class ends and the next begins), what I'm saying is that there is no real reason why someone can not be content with being in the lower or upper classes. I don't get why someone must be in the middle class to be happy. Why can a poor person not be happy? Why can a rich person not be happy? If it is because they are comparing themselves to others, then that is really just a personal problem .That is all I was trying to say in regards to the whole class thing. "
Well, i never claimed you had to be middle class to be happy. Most people would assume that the higher the class you are the better, this is largely about social status. Though i'm sure there are some people who detest the upper class attitudes, and would thus prefer to go from being lower class to middle class. Mostly because most historic lower class groups were violently oppressed and didn't want to become their oppressors (like slaves in the South not wanting to become Slaver-owners, though if you can find a counter example that would be interesting).
People DO compare themselves to their neighbours, and a large part of that is a problematic focus on property and ownership. People feel their value is derived from their wealth and income - they try to use their wealth to show off their status (buying big cars, fancy clothes, etc) and this is an issue both individually and for western societies.
I believe that humans naturally tend to fight over social status, most organisations end up with internal political differences (even my scout group, which is an entirely voluntary organisation, has it's internal problems because it has been so successful it is rather large; ~150 youth members...) How and ever, i see no good reason why there should be a link between income/wealth and status. Most 'high status' jobs are paid better than low status jobs.
I would much prefer a universal basic income which was sufficient that everyone could volunteer their time (whether to their community, or whatever else they felt was a worthwhile endeavour - because freedom!) If people want to work that's fine... but in a world where robots are doing all the tedious labour, i see no reason why we should expect humans to continue as they have been.
That said, under the current system (at least in the social democracies of Europe) we don't just have a working class, we also have an unemployed class. Those who survive on state aid. And unfortunately a great many of them could give two fucks about society. They have been kicked in the teeth and told they were failures too many times, and then given a handout which further humiliates. There is no strong ethic of volunteering among the unemployed class, despite the fact that they have ample time on their hands... and making a basic income universal could go a small way towards removing the psychological barriers...
How and Ever, i think humans are still going to compare themselves to their neighbours. And i fear no government policy exists which will change that.