ABSTRACT
An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education recently observed that the problem with introducing a sense of class consciousness into US society has been that most Americans consider themselves either rich or pre-rich. I think a similar attitude operates in the society of architects, except that it operates with a different form of currency. That is, architects consider themselves either famous or pre-famous. In both cases, the masses are encouraged to self-identify with the elites, regardless of whether any realistic possibility of achieving that exalted status exists or not.
