The New Class, an observation of western culture.
by Gaelhouse
Prior to the
Bolshevik revolution society in Russia consisted of several classes, the
Nobility - who with the Tsar made up the ruling class, and the ruled, the Merchant, - rich,
middle, and poor - or Bourgeois, the Military, and the recently emancipated
Serfs. Following the Bolshevik revolution a New Class, the Communist Party,
emerged. This New Class, one I visualize structurally as
a pyramid, became the ruling class and the party elite held the power with ruthless
abandon as history has demonstrated.
Marx saw communism as leading to a new social order in which
capitalism, ownership of property, and religion would become unnecessary with
the ultimate development of the communist society gpverned by the dictatorship of the proletariat. The theoretical goal of communism was to establish a system that would emancipate the worker,
to each according to his need etc. History proved otherwise, the system collapsed.
In the practical order many simply joined the New Class to obtain
power, money, and prestige. By promoting the goals of the New Class, basically
ruled by the elite, one had the opportunity to rise in power and prestige by
moving up the structure. However, to move upward in the structure, one needed
to become subservient to the mission of the New Class. In the Soviet Union
those individuals outside the class served the New Class. History shows that
among the upper echelons of the New Class power struggles and purges occurred
to maintain the power among the elite, those at the upper levels of the
pyramid. To what extent a corrupt elite contributed to the collapse has not
been demonstrated
With the discovery of Americas, the European Potentates used the
fiction of Discovery Title to confiscate the lands of the Indigenous of the
Americas.
These Potentates colonized that new world, Africa and Asia through
a created entity, the joint-stock-company and through Crown grants. These
entities operated by the white European male exploited the natural resources
found in the Americas, Africa and Asia and to a certain extent exploited the
human capital living there by the institution of slavery.
As the age of enlightenment, as it is called, developed the
Potentates lost power to more or less democratic governments formed by the
enlightened elite. During the period of exploitation, the subsequent
accumulation of wealth by the citizens of the new governments and countries,
and with the advent of the industrial revolution in the capitalistic economic
system that prevailed, the joint-stock-company morphed into the modern
corporation. The corporation was
given the status of "person" by the governments that succeeded the
European monarchies, and while the corporation achieved a privileged status, it
had no heart, or soul.
In my opinion, a New Class has come into being in the West. This New Class came to maturity in the
twentieth century as corporations began to merge and grow into multinational
entities. I identify the new class as "Corporate Structure" and visualize it
too as a pyramid. Under the capitalist system the goal or mission of the New
Class is to maximize return on capital, a worthy objective. While early on
these corporations competed in the market place with each other, the trend now
seems that they exist as elements of a giant pyramid each dedicated to
fulfilling it mission.
With modern globalization, cooperate agreements and the desire to
maximize the return on invested capital; the New Class now exploits all global
resources including human capital. The New Class controls the resources of the
world, including human capital, by controlling the legislatures and executive
branches of the various governments in which the structures are incorporated,
and the tyrants that control the nations that are not "democratic." The elite
of the New Class obtains and maintains control by the use of money.
The new elite, the upper management of the corporations, control
the Corporate Structure. Now individuals gain power, prestige, and riches by
joining the New Class and moving up the management ladder, eventually joining
the new elite. Joining the New Class requires the individual to promote and
dedicate oneself to the mission of the New Class, maximizing the return on
invested capital.
All those individual and entities that lie outside the class serve
this New Class.
I make no judgment about whether the New Class is good or bad. I
do point out that the new class is not accountable to those outside the class
except insofar as the governments, in which the new class finds itself, or the
shareholders are willing to regulate the class. While in theory the elite, are
responsible to the owners, the shareholders of the corporation, in my
experience they are more likely accountable to the bottom line and as long as
the bottom line is "good" the owners couldn't care less.
I also observe there will always be tension, and sometimes perhaps
conflict, between the mission of the New Class and the interest of the workers
employed to produce the commodities and services marketed by the New Class, as
well as between the mission of the New Class and the interest of those outside
the class, for example with the preservation of the environment in which the
New Class operates and the General Welfare of the larger society. I acknowledge
that there are those who are members of the class and even of the elite who
share these concerns as well. It appears, however, the interest of workers and
the interest of those outside the New Class are subordinated to the mission of
the New Class and the self-interest of the elite.
Also, I do not believe it follows that the mission of the New
Class need be opposed to the well being of the workers or the General Welfare
of the larger society, or the condition of the planet. And, while some members
of the New Class pay more than lip service to higher values, the behavior of many if not most
reflect, maximizing the return on capital as the highest value. So far, I do
not see the welfare of those outside of the New Class or the planet as a
primary concern of the new elite. The rational of the new elite appears to be,
"maximizing the return on capital will benefit those outside the New
Class, and to the extent they accomplish the mission, they are entitled to
unbridled compensation fixed by other elite of the New Class.
As an optimist I believe that concerned citizens outside the class
or perhaps a new paradigm will arise that will change the structure and result
in a more beneficial attitude toward promoting the General Welfare.