History offers many examples: Revolutionary France; England under Oliver Cromwell; Renaissance Italy; late Republican Rome; and Athens under Pericles. All of these states represent periods when the middle class rose to previously unprecedented heights of power and influence. Their ascent was marked by a struggle for political control between the traditional power of the aristocracy and the rising power of the bourgeoisie. That ascent also often marked an historical apogee, or near apogee, in the nation's power.
The Rise of Middle-Class America
As I have pointed out in several articles, I agree with Aristotle's theory in his book Politics (Book 4, Chapter 11), that the best type of government is a constitutionally limited one, dominated by a large middle class. This is the essence of the "representative democracy" pursued by Jefferson and Madison to the end of their lives. I was very pleased to discover that Hedrick Smith agrees with my assessment in his book Who Stole the American Dream?
In the five cases I noted above (France, England, Italy, Rome, and Athens), the power and influence of the middle class was undermined, in part, by: 1) not having a written constitution, or having one that was completely out-of-date for the political reality of the time, requiring a reliance on custom to fill in the gaps; 2) subversion by unscrupulous politicians who used the poor as a political bludgeon; 3) being sold out by the aristocracy to the enemies of the state; 4) the rise of tyrants who, in the name of restoring order, overthrew the constitution using the military; or 5) some combination of the above.
I believe President Franklin Roosevelt had Aristotle's idea in the back of his mind when he (at the instigation of Marriner Eccles and others) started his New Deal. The idea had become central to his vision of a post-war America when he delivered his January 11, 1944 radio address, outlining what would come to be called by some "The Second Bill of (Economic) Rights."
The economic rights included in Roosevelt's proposal, which he intended to see through the Congress after the end of the Second World War, can be distilled down to the following points:
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useful and remunerative employment, together with the potential to find a job that will offer not only an income, but the spiritual rewards of an avocation;
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wages that provide for adequate food, clothing, opportunity for recreation, and decent shelter for the wage earner and his family;
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adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
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for every business in America, large and small, protection from unfair competition and monopolistic practices at home and abroad;
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the ability of farmers and ranchers to raise and sell the bounty of their lands at a return that will give them and their families a decent living;
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