Review of Money and Class in America by Lewis Lapham

Lewis Lapham's view of "the American faith in money," as written in his book Money and Class in America, is both blatant and merciless in its expression of what he believes to be the truth. And while it may exaggerate some of the more obvious points that he makes, there is no denying that what he writes is true; that Americans today, living in this nation in this day and age, are indeed far too occupied and have been steered far too off-course by the notion of the "American dream," the life-long task of seizing opportunity and not letting go, of building a career that stems solely from a desire for wealth and prestige.

In today's world, the fine lines separating money, integrity, class, social status, and even intellect are not so fine anymore. Instead the rich are now defined in society as being the intellectually strong, the social titans, the epitomes of integrity, prestige, and power, while those without wealth are seen as the exact opposite, regardless of any extraneous circumstances. Lapham in the passage attempts to analyze both how and why American today focus so much of themselves and view so much of themselves based on how much they have to spend.

Lapham makes a point to say that one of the ways money has now dominated the lives of Americans is through how it is spent. Today, how much one has is synonymous with how much property, how much "stuff," he or she has. The fancy homes, the expensive cars, the extravagant jewelry are just some of the ways in which people today now feel it is important to express one's abundance or currency. After all, what is the use of money if not for spending? This mentality has led people to a point of intense competition with each other, all in an attempt to one-up the people around them with a bigger house, a fancier car, better clothes, or more expensive vacations. Lapham puts it best by stating that "seeing is believing, and if an American success is to count for anything ... it must be clothed in the raiment of property." After all, what people can't see, doesn't count.

Lapham goes further into implying that perhaps now there is no more line separating American's need and want for money and that its need and desire for "the other claims of the human spirit." What he implies is that Americans today have sold their souls to the dream of owning the larges property on the block, to the dream of holding the biggest paychecks and having that sense of power, security, and wealth. Lapham separates Americans distinctly from other societies both in other parts of the world and in other eras in history. According to him, the want for money is universal, but the dependence for it seems to uniquely apply only to Americans.

Lapham is correct in saying that "money means so many things to us - spiritual as well as temporal - that we are at a loss to know how to hold its majesty at bay." Money in America has literally become the epicenter of everything that anyone works towards. Society today views money and success not as relatable abut as identical. Money today drives everyone; it drives them to devote their lives to studying, to learning, and to working, all for the purpose of having money, the prestige and the social tool of America today.