The American Ruling Class
These people do exist, and they are stronger than ever. But America’s attitude towards them is hard to decipher. Their first response, as usual, is simply denial. Americans deny that reality really exists. And a denial of their power structure is part of that pattern. They conform to it automatically and unconsciously while consciously denying its existence.
They are also helpless, and declare that, whatever it is, they can do nothing about it. They had nothing to do with its formation and cannot be held responsible for its behavior (which is  not entirely true). To repeat, there are two interacting forces in this complex – denial and helplessness.
But instead of feeling ashamed of themselves, they are proud they have come up with such a perfect solution. They have decided not to live in a defective reality, but to live in perfect world of their own making instead.
But I see I have gotten of the track – I started to write about their ruling class.
A short historical review is in order here, but I will limit myself to the American history I experienced – beginning when I was an adolescent, in the Fifties. The first obsession for all high-school graduates was simple – to get a good job. And that meant first of all going to college, getting a profession, and then working for an organization. I went to work for the Federal Aviation Administration as an engineer, and my siblings when to work as schoolteachers.
We expected to work for one organization all our lives, work our way up in it, and then retire from it. The organization was supposed to provide for us, and to make life comfortable for the large middle class, of which we were a part. But things did not work out that way.
What happened instead is hard to describe, but I will try anyway. Back in my Father’s day, there were large, stable companies who hired most of the people. In my Father’s home town of Ft. Madison, Iowa, the West End was dominated by the Santa Fe Railroad. And the East End by the Sheaffer Pen Company. And there were many, many small businesses, such a the photography studio owned by my Father. The family farm was still important in rural areas.
There was a large layer of middle managers, or the bosses, as they were known, in any company, and they were the ones who actually ran the place. They were well-paid, and anyone could aspire to one of these positions. Or, if you were more independent, to be a successful small businessman. The demands in either case were not severe, and anyone could look forward to an pleasant, affluent life.
But slowly all this changed. American society lost its focus on the successful individual, and focused instead on a successful techno-structure – where only a few at the very top benefited. I have invented a new word here techno-structure – quite to my own surprise. Let me work on it for awhile.
Successful technologies have always produced new societies – this what civilization amounted to. A new kind of people appeared, and a new kind of person, that never existed before. This resulted, over the next thousand years or so, in the Roman Empire. Which resulted, in turn, in its collapse, the Middle Ages, and then the Modern World – and then its collapse into what something we now the Post-Modern World – for the lack of a better term.
In every case there was a ruling class, as there always is – although in times of fast change (such as the present) they come and go so fast, they are hard to keep track off. Now I have finished my very short history of the world, I will return to the present.
What has happened in the last fifty years or so? What I call the techno-structure has taken over. In an eerie way, our technology has taken control of us. Although to be more correct – we have merged with it and the resulting complex has taken over.
This brings up the all-important idea of a complex – something that most people, including many scientists, have a hard time getting their minds around. The facts are simple – in most situations, lots of variables interact with lots of other variables to affect how everything works. We no longer have a  simple cause-and-effect situation. This was only an illusion – one that served us well, it is true, but also left us with a mess we do not know how to deal with.
This includes a shadowy new ruling class who clearly exist somehow, but just how, we are not sure. They are part of the Global Economy – which we do not understand either. We are on automatic pilot, with unknown forces at the controls.
Let me give a concrete example. I live in rural Costa Rica, and coffee farms dominate the landscape. But more and more communication towers also dominate it. Why? Because Ticos have become obsessed with their cell phones, and all kinds of foreign companies are rushing in to profit from this.
What dominates these companies? The combination of an ruling elite and their technologies. The same as in the USA, whose popular culture (and business culture) they identify with.
Let’s not forget the Dark Ages, a direct result of the collapse of Rome. The Middle Ages, dark as they were, demonsrated more organization than in the DA. The fall of Rome threw the existing balance into chaos.
I have been reading the biography of Steve Jobs. Both he and Steve Wozniak came from lower middle class families, but were lucky enough to be situated in the Santa Clara Valley at a time of great opportunity for those who were gifted (and they both were). An empire was built and the culture as we knew it was changed because of those two who were not originally part of the “ruling class.” There are many similar stories, especially from northern California.
The power you speak of has been around for a long time and I fear will be long after we are gone. That’s the power held by those who demand power for its own sake. We here in America can and sometimes do wield ballot power. Unfortunately, we are such an enormous group that we need thoughtful leadership to mobilize us and that’s hard to come by. The Occupy movement briefly looked like it might come to the rescue of us ordinary folks. However, it’s lack of focus and legitimate leadership created a vacuum which was eagerly filled by those without any common sense, and it appears the fledgling movement has crashed and burned. The more the masses suffer, however, the more similar movements will arise. One of these days, one will succeed and the pendulum will swing once more.
Silicon Valley, it its early days, before I got there, was a land of opportunity. And every other area, and every other country tried to emulate it – without much success. The valley itself crashed and burned – including Apple Computer.
It did manage to stagger to its feet again, but it was never the same – with a few outstanding exceptions, such as Google and Apple under Jobs.Companies by the thousands fell by the wayside, and lots of young people returned home to work at whatever job they could get. Those that stayed move from company to company constantly, with few retirement benefits.
Becoming a successful software developer is far more demanding than any profession before it – so much so, that most of the American young do not bother to learn it. In contrast, the young in India and China are eager to learn it and then work hard.
All the manufacturing, including Apple’s manufacturing, is now done in China. And that is not likely to come back.
I’m reminded reading your blog of the age old word of wisdom, “…that those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it”. I am very concerned these days regarding the health of the middle class in America. I believe that it is the middle class that has made America somewhat distinctive. We seventy year olds have seen the power of the middleclass in America probably at its greatest influence. It is very important that the ruling class be kept in check and that the rules provide for a fair playing field. The answer to this is very complex, but we know the answer. The Global economy is a relatively new phenomenum and present new problems for the middle class but I remain optimistic. In this country, though, we need to do something about the power of money in the political process. It has and is corruption our system and society.
As I said on my blog:
Thank you for your comment. We haven’t talked for awhile.
You say “The answer to this is very complex, but we know the answer.” Could you enlarge on that?
Perhaps you are thinking of a list of answers. What are they?
Thank you for your comment. We haven’t talked for awhile.
You say “The answer to this is very complex, but we know the answer.” Could you enlarge on that?
Perhaps you are thinking of a list of answers. What are they?