Quote Originally Posted by SwordsMaster View Post
It is exactly why class is a different concept from wealth. Anyone can be wealthy. Just because someone won the lottery doesn't make them upper class. It is culture, education, tastes and manners that distinguish between classes.

From the relevant definition: Class:
a. A social stratum whose members share certain economic, social, or cultural characteristics.
b. Social rank or caste, especially high rank.
c. Elegance of style, taste, and manner.

As you can see, economic situation is only one of the criteria.
I don't disagree that that is the current basis on which class is determined. It certainly is. However, I do believe this has not always been the case, and I believe that the decreasing emphasis on wealth is the result of the loss of wealth and power by nobility across the globe, not because of the inherent attributes of 'class' itself. As I see it, the current definition of class is artificial and has been distorted from the much older version of 'class' which placed greater emphasis on money and power and less on individual behavior. There are many people who would have been considered 'upper class' 2000 years ago who would not have been upper class in Victorian Britain, and vice versa.