Or what's more, "middle class" has always been a concept in capitalism apologia wherein a social group which represents moderation prevents the establishment of a social consciousness of the true strata: rich and poor.

The statistic that the US "middle class" has shrunk 11% in 50 years is a milder one than saying that income inequality is the highest it's been since 1928.

Wealth inequality is much worse. https://mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/

Thomas Piketty's book "A Brief History of Equality" made it clear to me that a mobilization of educated, class-conscious voters (or guerillas) is necessary, but is capable of making painless policy decisions which immediately ameliorate suffering.