upper class

…toward the luxurious expenditure of the rich is a mixture of envy—sometimes accompanied by, but often devoid of, a feeling of resentment—and of approval based on popular economic reasoning. It is a very widespread belief that such expenditure is good for trade because it makes money circulate and therefore increases…

…of European society a new upper class formed as big business took shape, representing a partial amalgam of aristocratic landowners and corporate magnates. This upper class wielded immense political influence, for example, in supporting government armaments buildups that provided markets for heavy industrial goods and jobs for aristocratic military officers.

The upper class in modern capitalist societies is often distinguished by the possession of largely inherited wealth. The ownership of large amounts of property and the income derived from it confer many advantages upon the members of the upper class. They are able to develop a…