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Keeping silent about social class, a norm that goes far beyond the affluent, can make Americans feel that class doesn’t, or shouldn’t, matter. And judging wealthy people on the basis of their individual behaviors — do they work hard enough, do they consume reasonably enough, do they give back enough — distracts us from other kinds of questions about the morality of vastly unequal distributions of wealth.

…Such moves help wealthy people manage their discomfort with inequality, which in turn makes that inequality impossible to talk honestly about — or to change.

– What the Rich Won’t Tell You, Opinion, New York Times, written by Rachel Sherman

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• This essay is adapted from “Uneasy Street: The Anxieties of Affluence
• The New York Times Opinion section is found on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion)