--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Uppertendom seemed even more problematic…" description: "\"“Uppertendom seemed even more problematic to the petite bourgeoisie, newly enlarged and newly self-conscious, which the boom had summoned into being. N..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/mike-wallace-5222_bourgeoisie_uppertendom-seemed-even-more-problematic_2933947.png" --- # Uppertendom seemed even more problematic to the petite… ![“Uppertendom seemed even more problematic to the petite bourgeoisie, newly enlarged and newly self-conscious, which the boom had summoned into being. New York’s middling strata would split on the luxury issue, some opting for fierce republican disapproval, others for fawning emulation. Most…” quote by Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/mike-wallace-5222_bourgeoisie_uppertendom-seemed-even-more-problematic_2933947.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/mike-wallace-5222_bourgeoisie_uppertendom-seemed-even-more-problematic_2933947.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/mike-wallace-5222_bourgeoisie_uppertendom-seemed-even-more-problematic_2933947.png) > ““Uppertendom seemed even more problematic to the petite bourgeoisie, newly enlarged and newly self-conscious, which the boom had summoned into being. New York’s middling strata would split on the luxury issue, some opting for fierce republican disapproval, others for fawning emulation. Most, however, sought to carve out a position that, while drawing the line at aristocratic frippery, nevertheless sought to find some common ground with the city’s most powerful people, ground they discerned in the theory and practice of “respectability.”” [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The emerging middle class negotiates status through consumption, oscillating between critique and emulation of elite norms. **In simple terms:** Middle class seeks status via goods. Key Takeaway Recognize how consumption shapes identity. Themes class consumerism identity status culture Mood analytical critical Type sociological observational When to use this quote - political activism - brand loyalty - social media Key Concepts social stratification respectability materialism Questions to Reflect On - What drives your consumption choices? - How do you define respectability? A Different Perspective May oversimplify diverse motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aristocratic Frippery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristocratic-frippery-4339688/) [Bourgeoisie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bourgeoisie/) [Bourgeoisie Newly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bourgeoisie-newly-4339690/) [Common ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-ground/) [Luxury Issue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxury-issue-4339689/) [Powerful people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful-people/) [Uppertendom Problematic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uppertendom-problematic-4339687/) [York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york/) ## Related quotes > [Dictatorship is rule based directly upon force and unrestricted by any laws. The revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is rule won and maintained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/dictatorship-is-rule-based-directly-upon-force-and-unrestricted-by/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [What has happened in the last generation is that Tijuana has become a new Third World capital - much to the chagrin of Mexico…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/what-has-happened-in-the-last-generation-is-that-tijuana-has-become-a/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [“I cannot do even one sit-up / Sit-ups are so bourgeoisie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-malkmus/i-cannot-do-even-one-sit-up-sit-ups-are-so-bourgeoisie/) [Stephen Malkmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-malkmus/) > [A system of licensing and registration is the perfect device to deny gun ownership to the bourgeoisie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/a-system-of-licensing-and-registration-is-the-perfect-device-to-deny/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [“The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-bourgeoisie-wherever-it-has-got-the-upper-hand-has-put-an-end-to/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [It is a tribute to the peculiar horror of contemporary life that it makes the worst features of earlier times -- the stupefaction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/it-is-a-tribute-to-the-peculiar-horror-of-contemporary-life-that-it/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [I can't agree that what we're seeing is a matter of the American bourgeoisie confronting workers everywhere. It's more like the international plutocracy eliminating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-hertzberg/i-can-t-agree-that-what-we-re-seeing-is-a-matter-of-the-american/) [Hendrik Hertzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-hertzberg/) > [The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the entire surface of the globe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-need-of-a-constantly-expanding-market-for-its-products-chases-the/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [It is a very good thing, and a significant one too, to exterminate the bourgeoisie and capitalism in China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/it-is-a-very-good-thing-and-a-significant-one-too-to-exterminate-the/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [I'm more of a warrior than you'll ever be. I believe in the class war. I believe in the battle of the sexes. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-m-more-of-a-warrior-than-you-ll-ever-be-i-believe-in-the-class-war/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [“Arnold Harberger, Milton Friedman & Co. Inc., your modest proposal of partial equilibrium for the general good is not without its own internal contradictions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-gunder-frank/arnold-harberger-milton-friedman-co-inc-your-modest-proposal-of/) [André Gunder Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-gunder-frank/) > [Common sense, in so far as it exists, is all for the bourgeoisie. Nonsense is the privilege of the aristocracy. The worries of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/common-sense-in-so-far-as-it-exists-is-all-for-the-bourgeoisie/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [“What imperialists actually wanted was expansion of political power without the foundation of the body politic. Imperialist expansion had been touched off by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-imperialists-actually-wanted-was-expansion-of-political-power/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [The burgeoisie, by the rapid improvement of all instruments of production, by the immensely facilitated means of communication, draws all nations into civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-burgeoisie-by-the-rapid-improvement-of-all-instruments-of/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [All freed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/all-freed-fast-frozen-relations-with-their-train-of-ancient-and/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) ## More by Mike Wallace > [It's astonishing what you learn and feel and see along the way. That's why a reporter's job, as you know, is such a joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/it-s-astonishing-what-you-learn-and-feel-and-see-along-the-way-that-s/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“Residents grimly spoke of the crisis as “O Grab Me”—“embargo” spelled backward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/residents-grimly-spoke-of-the-crisis-as-o-grab-me-embargo-spelled/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“The key to success in the Gold Room was information. Knowledge of a battle’s outcome obtained an hour before one’s competitors could be parlayed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/the-key-to-success-in-the-gold-room-was-information-knowledge-of-a/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“When the popular actor John Hodgkinson appeared in the red coat of a British officer, hecklers wouldn’t allow him to continue until he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/when-the-popular-actor-john-hodgkinson-appeared-in-the-red-coat-of-a/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [When I came to CBS it was the mother church. I mean that was - everybody wanted to go to work for CBS News.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/when-i-came-to-cbs-it-was-the-mother-church-i-mean-that-was-everybody/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [Even though Jack Kennedy and I were about the same age and lived in the same neighborhood and attended the same elementary school, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/even-though-jack-kennedy-and-i-were-about-the-same-age-and-lived-in/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“Warner took to writing in hopes of making money and submitted a pious and sentimental novel to Harpers, which rebuffed it with the single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/warner-took-to-writing-in-hopes-of-making-money-and-submitted-a-pious/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“Horace Greeley cautioned one upstate hopeful: “You do not realize how little the mere talent of writing well has to do with success or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/horace-greeley-cautioned-one-upstate-hopeful-you-do-not-realize-how/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“Political editors were a truculent breed. Leggett’s boss, William Cullen Bryant, took a cowskin whip to William Leete Stone of the Commercial Advertiser in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/political-editors-were-a-truculent-breed-leggett-s-boss-william/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [But I was never, you know, when I see some kids today who are close to their parents, close to their friends... I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/but-i-was-never-you-know-when-i-see-some-kids-today-who-are-close-to/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“And among the prissiest. Gilder’s method of raising public standards of taste and morality required the production of bloodless pages. As custodian of genteel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/and-among-the-prissiest-gilder-s-method-of-raising-public-standards/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [Covering Richard Nixon's triumphant run in 1968 turned out to be my last major assignment as a general correspondent for CBS News. In September…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/covering-richard-nixon-s-triumphant-run-in-1968-turned-out-to-be-my/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [There's not a better job in journalism than the one we have, seriously on '60 Minutes' - not a better job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/there-s-not-a-better-job-in-journalism-than-the-one-we-have-seriously/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [Both my parents came from Russia and suddenly they wound up in Boston, Massachusetts, Brookline, Massachusetts and they felt the sun rose and set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/both-my-parents-came-from-russia-and-suddenly-they-wound-up-in-boston/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“In the symphonic world, musically inclined industrialists and financiers were having problems of a different sort with the New York Philharmonic. The old German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/in-the-symphonic-world-musically-inclined-industrialists-and/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) [Explore all 102 Mike Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) ## More Bourgeoisie quotes > [Dictatorship is rule based directly upon force and unrestricted by any laws. The revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is rule won and maintained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/dictatorship-is-rule-based-directly-upon-force-and-unrestricted-by/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [The burgeoisie, by the rapid improvement of all instruments of production, by the immensely facilitated means of communication, draws all nations into civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-burgeoisie-by-the-rapid-improvement-of-all-instruments-of/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“What imperialists actually wanted was expansion of political power without the foundation of the body politic. Imperialist expansion had been touched off by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-imperialists-actually-wanted-was-expansion-of-political-power/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Common sense, in so far as it exists, is all for the bourgeoisie. Nonsense is the privilege of the aristocracy. The worries of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/common-sense-in-so-far-as-it-exists-is-all-for-the-bourgeoisie/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [“Arnold Harberger, Milton Friedman & Co. Inc., your modest proposal of partial equilibrium for the general good is not without its own internal contradictions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-gunder-frank/arnold-harberger-milton-friedman-co-inc-your-modest-proposal-of/) [André Gunder Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-gunder-frank/) > [I'm more of a warrior than you'll ever be. I believe in the class war. I believe in the battle of the sexes. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-m-more-of-a-warrior-than-you-ll-ever-be-i-believe-in-the-class-war/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [It is a very good thing, and a significant one too, to exterminate the bourgeoisie and capitalism in China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/it-is-a-very-good-thing-and-a-significant-one-too-to-exterminate-the/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the entire surface of the globe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-need-of-a-constantly-expanding-market-for-its-products-chases-the/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [I can't agree that what we're seeing is a matter of the American bourgeoisie confronting workers everywhere. It's more like the international plutocracy eliminating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-hertzberg/i-can-t-agree-that-what-we-re-seeing-is-a-matter-of-the-american/) [Hendrik Hertzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-hertzberg/) > [It is a tribute to the peculiar horror of contemporary life that it makes the worst features of earlier times -- the stupefaction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/it-is-a-tribute-to-the-peculiar-horror-of-contemporary-life-that-it/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [“The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-bourgeoisie-wherever-it-has-got-the-upper-hand-has-put-an-end-to/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [A system of licensing and registration is the perfect device to deny gun ownership to the bourgeoisie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/a-system-of-licensing-and-registration-is-the-perfect-device-to-deny/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [“I cannot do even one sit-up / Sit-ups are so bourgeoisie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-malkmus/i-cannot-do-even-one-sit-up-sit-ups-are-so-bourgeoisie/) [Stephen Malkmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-malkmus/) > [What has happened in the last generation is that Tijuana has become a new Third World capital - much to the chagrin of Mexico…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/what-has-happened-in-the-last-generation-is-that-tijuana-has-become-a/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [All freed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/all-freed-fast-frozen-relations-with-their-train-of-ancient-and/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) [Browse all 162 Bourgeoisie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bourgeoisie/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Uppertendom seemed even more problematic to the petite bourgeoisie, newly enlarged and newly self-conscious, which the boom had summoned into being. New York’s middling strata would split on the luxury issue, some opting for fierce republican disapproval, others for fawning emulation. Most, however, sought to carve out a position that, while drawing the line at aristocratic frippery, nevertheless sought to find some common ground with the city’s most powerful people, ground they discerned in the theory and practice of “respectability.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mike Wallace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/uppertendom-seemed-even-more-problematic-to-the-petite-bourgeoisie/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bourgeoisie" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/uppertendom-seemed-even-more-problematic-to-the-petite-bourgeoisie/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/mike-wallace-5222_bourgeoisie_uppertendom-seemed-even-more-problematic_2933947.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/mike-wallace-5222_bourgeoisie_uppertendom-seemed-even-more-problematic_2933947.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/mike-wallace-5222_bourgeoisie_uppertendom-seemed-even-more-problematic_2933947.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Uppertendom seemed even more problematic to the petite bourgeoisie, newly enlarged and newly self-conscious…” — Mike Wallace", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mike Wallace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Uppertendom seemed even more problematic to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/uppertendom-seemed-even-more-problematic-to-the-petite-bourgeoisie/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/uppertendom-seemed-even-more-problematic-to-the-petite-bourgeoisie/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```