Why Americans Don't 'Eat the Rich'

February 9, 2026

TL;DR

U.S. credit card debt reached $1.3 trillion in 2025, with Buy Now Pay Later debt estimated at $700 billion, totaling roughly $2 trillion in consumer debt.
The expansion of consumer credit since the 1960s has coincided with a cultural shift from thrift to spending and from debt being shameful to being normalized.
Easy access to credit allows non-rich Americans to emulate the lifestyles of the wealthy, reducing feelings of inferiority and suppressing potential populist outrage against income inequality.
Unlike in France, where class consciousness and resentment towards the wealthy are more prevalent, Americans with inadequate income can use credit to achieve a semblance of wealth, thereby mitigating desires for revolution.
Despite significant income inequality in the U.S., there is a lack of widespread populist revolt against the rich, a phenomenon attributed in part to the role of consumer credit in providing instant gratification and masking economic grievances.

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