David Brooks has written a lengthy but truly thought-provoking article on Bourgeoisophobia -- the fear, loathing, and contempt of middle class American values that pervades elite European and radical Arab society, as well as certain segments of America's own cultural elites. He also ties this in fairly effectively with the increasing prevalence of anti-Semitism on the political Left, and suggests rather startlingly that anti-Semitism and Bourgeoisophobia are essentially two sides of the same coin. While at first I thought the latter was a little unlikely, the more I read the article, particularly some of the stuff in Part 2, the more I found myself agreeing with him.

The article is rather long and in two parts. It's more for the cerebro-geek types like me who are into lengthy discussions of political theory. If that's up your alley, however, I think you'll find his article as fascinating as I did. It can be found at the following links:

Among the Bourgeoisophobes: Part 1

Among the Bourgeoisophobes: Part 2