The Third Estate’s goal is the political and economic recovery of America’s largest and most powerful group, the ninety-nine percent. If you are among the ninety-nine percent of Americans without wealth, without economic security and with a threatened political voice, you are the Third Estate. The goal of the Third Estate is to enlightenment and empower.
To understand what the Third Estate is, it helps to understand a little history. Politics, treachery and greed crowd the historical canvas. Yet there is no better place to begin than with the Enlightenment, a period in European history that has dramatically influenced where we are today.
The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was a period of cultural revolution in Europe. Intellectuals emerged as leaders of political and philosophical thought. France, in particular, nurtured these elites who propagated their lofty ideals through pamphlets and meetings in elegant salons. What emerged from the new thinkers was political change, change that ultimately resulted in the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. This change, although simplified here, transitioned power from the clergy, or First Estate, and the nobles, or second estate, to the Third estate—everyone else.
Today, the First Estate and the Second Estate are no longer the clergy and nobles. In comparison, the First Estate today may be our corporations. Our modern version of the Second Estate would then be our elected officials. The Third Estate still remains the same. The Third Estate is everyone who is not a million dollar corporation or an elected official. In the United States, the Third Estate is the disappearing middle class and the poor. Eventually, with middle class steadily evaporating, it may just be the poor.
Our mission is to educate and enlighten those of us impacted by the modern day First and Second Estates. The unemployed, underpaid, overworked, sick, the risk takers, the brave and those who hope to make a difference and reclaim our elusive American dream. Reclaiming it will take perseverance, hard work and a strong moral compass. The power of the masses is strong, however, and has changed the political course of history more than once.