ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the fact of material progress must be established; some of the criticisms and caveats leveled against exaggerated claims of growth. It examines the two principal means by which economic growth bolsters support for the system or, more likely, stems resentment of its inegalitarian elements. Different individuals might be expected to react to mobility perceptions differently. The chapter also explores the biases of ideology and structure that maximize the moderating impact of economic growth on class conflict. The ability of economic growth to mitigate class consciousness and thereby preserve economic inequality is not solely a consequence of the effects of growth on levels of economic opportunity and social mobility. The actuality of higher educational opportunity sustains the belief in increased social and economic opportunity. The primary assumption in the shared prosperity thesis is that economic growth is a social goal that unites all economic groups, a national project that ought to consume collective energies and loyalties.
