From the writings of Theodore Dalrymple (Anthony Daniels), my most favourite conservative writer.
... the middle classes were persuaded by intellectuals for much of the century that an economy is a zero-sum game, and that they were prosperous because others were poor. Moreover, they were the bearers of a thoroughly undemocratic and elitist culture. This naturally made them feel guilty about their own privileged position (I was recently told by a colleague of mine how guilty he felt that, unlike so many of his patients, he had no financial worries whatever -- as if, after half a lifetime of study and hard work, he ought still to have such worries, as if his patients had financial worries precisely because he had none). -- Theodore Dalrymple, New Statesman, Dec. 20, 1999 http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0FQP/4467_128/59134985/print.jhtml