Working men tolerate their own status but hope their children will rise above it.

Evidence

Being in the average group [He wouldn’t assign himself a class status] doesn’t bother me. I know I make a living—as long as I make a living, and I’m happy and I have what I want—try to give my family what they want. It doesn’t bother me—no. I’m satisfied. … But then he adds: “I hope to God my children will do better than their father did.” — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2175

Categorization

• SEED: A possible essay angle: how deferred ambition onto one’s children functions as a psychological safety valve allowing status quiescence in the present.
• XREF: connects to: Family allowances were promoted as making male workers more reliable and strike-resistant. — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market: Human Rights…, 189