One of the distinctions of the upper classes in ages where there was a semblance of a shared morality was the ideal of noblesse oblige. This phrase indicated that those who were wealthy and in power had a responsibility to the lower classes in raising the standards of living and in also taking leadership positions, which entailed sacrifice.
This ideal goes back to classical times, when the sons of nobility were expected to fight in the military exploits of Greece or Rome. Indeed, Ulysses was a king, as were most of the characters who took part in the Trojan Wars. In fact, it was the duty of the lords to fight with their colleagues. Even though this ideal changed over the centuries to include a more voluntary giving of services, the ideal remained until recently.
What has changed in the upper classes, who filled the rosters of the civil services and upper echelons of the military of many countries, is the lack of training in the Ten Commandments and the idea of natural law philosophy.
If law is merely what a government decides and not an ideal which shapes the lives of all men for all time, and if law is no longer based on the morals placed in men and women by God, Who made them in His image and likeness, then those in power do not feel the need to support a common morality. One only needs to work for one's self, and not for the common good.
The ideal of the common good must be based on a common natural law philosophy, otherwise, there is no "common". Without a shared vision of who men and women are and Who God is, there can be no obligation of nobility. Obligation means a duty which is perceived by a person who has a vision for both the City of God and the City of Man.
Without a transcendent vision, based on the Judeo-Christian Tradition, people fall into man-made ideologies. An ideology does not demand nobility only conformity.
What we are witnessing is a huge split in the basic approach to morality and civic duty. Those who share a common vision based on the Gospel of Christ will come more and more into conflict with those who work from completely subjective criteria.
Noblesse oblige, which was the sharing of resources of those who had with those who had not, has disappeared with the Christian culture.
