Overclass Explained

Overclass is a recent and pejorative^{[1] [2]} term for the most powerful group in a social hierarchy. Users of the term generally imply excessive and unjust privilege and exploitation of the rest of society.^{[3] [4] [5]}

The word is fairly recent: the Oxford English Dictionary included it only in December 2004.^[6] But it has been in use since at least 1995. Some writers compare it to the more familiar underclass:

The influence of the actions by the overclass have been rigorously studied, particularly with regards to notions of intersections between the overclass and specific races. Most notable of these racial overclasses is the NEWBO, or NEW Black Overclass in America.^[7]

Perhaps the most commonly agreed-upon "overclass" consists of leaders in international business, finance and the arms trade.^[8]

See also

• Lists of billionaires
• Oligarchy
• Power elite
• Ruling class
• Transnational capitalist class (also see Superclass)
• Upper class
• Underclass

Further reading

• Adler, Jerry . July 31, 1995 . The Rise of the Overclass; The Overclass 100 . . 126 . 5 . 32–46. Newsweek cover story on "How the new elite scrambled up the merit ladder—and wants to stay there any way it can."

External links

• Why the Right Is Wrong for America, 1996
• To have and to have not, 1995

Notes and References

1. https://books.google.com/books?id=znDscu7MVcEC&dq=overclass&pg=PT222 The next American nation: the new nationalism and the fourth American revolution – Michael Lind – Google Books
2. https://books.google.com/books?id=FYMrsb2u_lIC&dq=overclass&pg=PA153 Fighting Poverty, Inequality and Injustice: A Manifesto Inspired by Peter ... - Google Books
3. https://books.google.com/books?id=3QAQAQAAMAAJ&q=overclass Chronicles – Rockford Institute – Google Books
4. https://books.google.com/books?id=cPPmmpNhb4IC&dq=overclass&pg=PA23 This Land Is Their Land: Reports from a Divided Nation – Barbara Ehrenreich – Google Books
5. https://books.google.com/books?id=dM_yXS9leCEC&q=overclass Delight of the Overclass! Demise of the Middleclass! - Jay T. Baldwin - Google Books
6. http://www.oed.com/help/updates/ou-overzealousness.html Quarterly updates to OED Online
7. Web site: Hawkins. Lee. February 26, 2009. CNBC Special Report: The New Black Overclass. https://web.archive.org/web/20140316074112/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/29413966/ns/business-cnbc_tv/t/cnbc-special-report-new-black-overclass/. dead. March 16, 2014. September 7, 2016. NBC News. NBCNews.com.
8. Book: Rothkopf, David J.. David Rothkopf. Superclass: the global power elite and the world they are making. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2008. 978-0-374-27210-4.