The makeup of every society is often categorized into three classes. The upper, middle and lower class.
The upper class are those who have plenty, who are rich in every aspect of the word, they own multiple strings of every wealth a society can boast of, in fact they are the wealth creators and so it often seem like their given right to be super rich and they are often admired, adored and often rewarded by the society in the accolades and importance they are treated with. They are the ones who keep the economy going. Your mind is already screaming CAPITALIST. Don’t let it lead you into that temptation because that word often connotes oppression. This is not the intent.
Capitalists are the fountain of wealth and employment. They are the great influencers when it comes to governance; they are the lobbyists who must direct the affairs of the government to favor the civil society. In Utopia they are the engine room of a society that must make its citizens live well and ensure equal pay for jobs done which will enhance the lives of all and give cause for aspirations within the human clan. In fact they are the providers, a word I prefer to use in this context depicting how every financial independence must stem from what they make available to the rest because that is how the triangle should be in a ceteris paribus, all things being equal. Follow my take?
Now the second class here in position as it appears in the strata of the makeup of any great society is made of up of the builders, the thinkers and the stabilizers. They are the managers of wealth and institutions. They are the ones who must organize and give the society a platform to explore and put forward its brightest and the best. Often called the working class…reminds me of the ant kingdom…the workers. In their own right they are the step every society relies on to climb to its height of greatness. They are the inventors and often are rewarded with the affordability of good life, which is a direct input of their hard work, and are admired for their uprightness, honour and dignity, which they bring along. They are the ones we depend to form our future generation in utopia if our society must be great with wealth and equality. In this class the blue collar is the inspiration of most. In reality of today they are in fact not anymore or pushed further down the strata forced to give up their once envious and prestigious second position. Follow my thought…
The third class are the base in the pyramid, the most vulnerable, the “have not’s” who truly wish to have. In fairness they are in fact the engine that must keep grinding so that the society can work for all. Often they are seen as the hard workers, as those whose sweat, every blood and tears lubricate the “machinery” that keeps the society going. So they must stay awake to keep thongs moving. They are the proud owners of a giving life whose reward usually and unfairly does not equal their input knowing how much they put in. Otherwise why does the hand that crafted the finest diamond, silver or gold not graced with one of its creations? Now you understand
My Take…
The resilience and the determination that I have seen in the past few days invoked these thoughts and I am trying to make sense of it all. Each class has been designed to work in tandem to strike a balance where even when all fingers are not equal there should in utopia exist some sense of equity, fairness and justice.
Now this brings me to heart of the inspiration of these thoughts that I share with you today. Recently across the world we have witnessed an unprecedented uproar of the common people against oppression and bad governance. The recent protest of #ENDSARS has brought to the classes an awareness that is overwhelmingly alarming as to how our own society has slipped beyond the pyramid. Every class has come to realise that there is something not right. The upper class has not only systematically wiped away the middle class, they have also taken that which the lower class rely on and made it their own…HARDSHIP ALLOWANCE.
Make for yourself any deduction you wish from this write up, I am only but a messenger who wishes to awaken a consciousness to observe what your class has done or is being done to.
A class which the society often had no name but often have made to carry the burden of the future of its survival in their hands regardless of the mess made. They have triggered this awareness, even the oppressors applaud without shame rather than right all the wrongs.
These are very interesting times. Find your class and be for it what it is. Utopia can be now not later because you are involved.
Till I write again. I love you for reading.
Ada.
Adaobi O. Alex-Oni is an Honorary Ambassador and a recipient of the Nelson Mandela Leadership Award by the African Youth Parliament. A broadcaster and writer, she is the convener of the ROWEAD conference. A social and women’s rights activist, she is a promoter of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. For more information, visit her website www.rowead.org