chattering classesとは 意味・読み方・使い方

The chattering classes is a generally derogatory term first coined by Auberon Waugh often used by pundits and political commentators to refer to a politically active, socially concerned and highly educated section of the "metropolitan middle class," especially those with political, media, and academic connections. It is sometimes used to refer to a liberal elite, but its first use by British right wing polemicist Frank Johnson in 1980 appeared to include a wider range of pundits. Indeed, the term is used by people all across the political spectrum to refer to the journalists and political operatives who see themselves as the arbiters of conventional wisdom. As such, the notion of 'chattering classes' can be seen as an antonym to the older idea of an unrepresented Silent Majority (made famous by the U.S. Republican President Richard Nixon).