Doormen waiting in front of the St.Regis Hotel, New York.
To acknowledge is to believe in something’s or is a democracy and not an oligarchy, and everybody and becomes increasingly more apparent.
somebody’s existence. Failing to acknowledge the has an equal voice and an equal chance and so forth. What did you hope your audiences would gain
class system that exists in America is failing to accept It’s a deep seated and deep-rooted belief in the from seeing The American Ruling Class?
that the land of opportunity does not reap benefits American consciousness. First of all be entertained [laughs]. Secondly, to
for all. Whilst hope and ambition are traits not And what about your own beliefs? ah...to give them an insight into the way the game
dependent on wealth, status or financial income, Well, I don’t think there’s ever a society without a works.
they become traits whose flame flickers and fades class system and so I don’t think …I don’t care When you were making it, did you have a
when blown by winds of inequality, minimum what you call it, the Greeks had different names for particular audience in mind?
wage, poor healthcare and lack of access to it. There are those who govern and those who are Yeah, I would have had in mind the people in
education. In a new film by Lewis Lapham, governed. And society is arranged on the, well college, people in there 20s. It’s based on a book
‘The American Ruling Class,’ the notion of certainly since the 18th century, it’s arranged, at I wrote called ‘Lapham’s rules of Influence.’
acknowledging the plight of the less fortunate, and least in the West, on the scale of money. Do you think that it would help increase
more importantly, our role in ascertaining a I saw you quote once morality vs. commercial awareness?
solution, is raised through insightful documentary reality, I think it was a Thomas Jefferson quote. Sure, among some people. I think it would have
and a spectacle of song. Opportunity for betterment Yeah, Jefferson said ‘money is the principle of done so. An existence of a class system in America
is a two-way street, suggests the film, and one that commercial nations.’ Actually the whole quote is is as obvious as…all you have to do is walk down
cannot be traveled without being aware of those ‘money, not morality is the principle of commercial Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills or Madison Avenue in
moving in the other direction. Slash caught up with nations.’ And that’s true. That’s the way American NY, or listen to the panegyric of Donald Trump,
the man behind the film, and the man behind some society operates…Money is a measure of worth. it’s hard to miss [laughs].
of the most socially-aware and change-inducing Do you think it’s better, in a way, in places like If it’s so hard to miss – which I agree with you –
words produced in America in the past half century, India or England were people do acknowledge why do you think people aren’t doing anything
Mr. Lewis Lapham. a class system needs to exist? about it.
The American class system is much more purist – You mean why is there no revolution?
FK: For what reasons do you believe Americans there’s rising into it and falling out of it…. In I mean people are reading these books like
don’t acknowledge the existence of a social class America people are either rising or falling. There’s Nickel & Dimed or seeing your film and people
system? constant – what would you call it – transfer. If seem to be shocked, saying ‘oh I can’t believe it.’
LL: It runs against the grain of the egalitarian that’s what we mean by egalitarianism, that’s fair. I’ve just read another book called Deer Hunting
beliefs. The notion that all men are created equal Our class system is not as rigid as, at least up until with Jesus, which just came out. It’s about this
and so on, the lines of the declaration of this point, it’s not as rigid as Europe or at least in guy that returns to his hometown after 30 years
independence, the notion that everybody is, you England, or let’s say in India. It’s more flexible but and finds many of the people he left are still at
know… We don’t have a class system, democracy it’s getting less flexible as the disparity between rich the same factories, not managing to make the
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