> The entire thing is a rationalization for the thinking illustrated in these quotes
What makes you say that?
It doesn't look that way to me, because (1) nothing in "the entire thing" particular looks (superficially or otherwise) like a justification for that thinking, and (2) the author doesn't cite any of the rest of "the entire thing" to justify that thinking.
It looks to me as if the entire thing is an attempt to describe how the author sees social class in the USA, and those quotes are just what they say they are: "a disclaimer of sorts".
What makes you say that?
It doesn't look that way to me, because (1) nothing in "the entire thing" particular looks (superficially or otherwise) like a justification for that thinking, and (2) the author doesn't cite any of the rest of "the entire thing" to justify that thinking.
It looks to me as if the entire thing is an attempt to describe how the author sees social class in the USA, and those quotes are just what they say they are: "a disclaimer of sorts".