I truly believe that our society is built to keep people in the working class, teetering on poverty. The way society is structured through government, politics, norms, and media… it's all to keep us being wage slaves.
A little bit about me – I grew up in my country's definition of poverty and I come from a large working class family. Prior to me and my sister, no one in my exceptionally large family ever got a university degree. It was something that my mother pushed us to do, and I'm thankful that she did.
I am now a high earner and I have opportunities flying at me from every direction but all I feel is an overwhelming sense of imposter syndrome. I know I'm competent and I know I deserve my success, but there's something in my brain screaming “you don't belong here”.
I've recently learned that this experience is common for people who break through class barriers, and it makes sense why it is statistically unlikely for someone born into poverty or the working class to break out of it and move up the social ladder (that and the structures in society that keep people down).
I want to hear stories about anyone who has experienced this and how they dealt with it. I'd also like to have a discussion about what we can do as people to help others who are having difficulty breaking class barriers.
My partner was also born into poverty and I think a huge part of why we were able to move up the social ladder is because we live in a country that is more on the socialist side of things (Canada). Without our publicly funded education, healthcare, social supports, etc., I'm not sure how our families could have made it.