Maybe the truth is that the term "middle class" is only useful as a political device, like most "class" definitions, including "class warfare."

I don't think most people in America see themselves as a member of a "class." If they use the term "middle class," it generally means almost everyone between the guy with the private jet and the guy who delivers the newspaper. And even then, it's just a matter of income. There isn't a sense that anyone is inherently "superior" or "inferior," like things used to be in Europe.

I eat at a restaurant, and the waiter isn't a different class, he's just someone with a different job. In all the important ways, he's the equal of even the richest customer. There are countries where workers like that are almost treated like furniture.

The waiter of today might be the entrepreneur of tomorrow, or maybe he'll own the restaurant in a few years. Maybe that guy in a private jet started out mowing lawns. Maybe that guy mowing lawns used to run a dot.com company. Income mobility, at least around here, is almost a given. We have a LOT of immigrants, almost all legal, from all over the world, but especially Asia. Some are washing dishes. Some are driving Mercedes. Many have done both.