Quote Originally Posted by AmericanPride View Post

Good question. I think those classes are roughly comparable to the court jester's of the feudal age, though today they are certainly more wealthy and more famous. In this sense, I think what is important is that those classes are dependent on the patronage of the elite and wealthy business/political leaders. Therefore to some degree the entertainer classes project the four masks.
I think a better analogy is to the gladiators of ancient Rome or the Charioteers of Byzantium. I suspect that members of the "entertainment classes" in many countries have a much stronger affinity with the common people than with the wealthy. (BTW, I think this is true in the US.)

How does one explain that pro sports figures and actors/actresses get away with the kinds of scandalous and down-right illegal behaviors that would put the common person behind bars for a long time? I suspect it is allowed as a form of anti-hero behavior that gives the great mass of folks an opportunity to be vicariously "naughty" without fear of reprisal.