By Alexander Perepechko

Published on October 15, 2012

According to theorists of elites (Mosca, 1939: 105), in a multi-racial, multi-religious, multi ethnic or socially complex state the ruling class should be recruited nearly exclusively from the dominant majority. A subjected minority group almost always has its own elite. Its upper stratum often is the first to be absorbed by majority rulers. Cooptation starts with minority leaders who are willing to cooperate and – often – give up essential interests of the group they represent. In my opinion, this reasoning is not convincing. It is known that when a minority group has particular memories of a glorious or tragic national past or a sense of group superiority, this group’s leaders are unlikely to be assimilated. Certainly, the massive “non-white” vote for Obama in 2008 (Gurfinkiel, 2012) reflects an upheaval of identity in America. That was the year when for the first time in American history more non-white than white babies were born. In several decades America will be a country with a new identity and new work ethic. But does this necessarily mean that Obama is not assimilated? It seems to me that Barack Hussein Obama II can represent various racial, ethnic, religious and cultural groups of citizens (Melber, 2012) better than Willard Mitt Romney. Also, social groups such as old aristocracies, immigrants, refugees and foreigners can hardly assimilate at all. In countries like the United States the Catholic clergy can take leadership roles in immigrant populations. At the same time, the Holy See is not thrilled about the assimilation of Catholic priests in the United States: the Vatican would like to have Roman Catholics in America, not American Catholics. For this reason, Popes send more Italian and Irish bishops to America to replace those who are presumably assimilated by the politics of cooptation. Therefore, modification of the ruling class can lead to situations in which minority elites represent both majority and racial, ethnic, religious and other groups in a country.

Current America is at the oligarchic stage. Time in America has become a circle, bending back on itself (see my February 17, 2012 post), because beliefs and doctrines quickly lose meaning. At the same time, norms, institutions and the ways in which the ruling class changes increasingly fall behind. Instead of reforming old norms, institutions and the ways in which elites renew, the American ruling class empties beliefs and doctrines of their original meaning. Definitely, political technologies are already well developed and are at the service of these elites. In post-industrial America these technologies re-orient people’s attention from their true interests to political fashions or strong emotions (Deliagin, 2012). But in the long run, this is a dead-end strategy. Demographic growth, non-renewable resources and ecological limiting factors prevent the extension of the American model of consumerism – the American Dream – to the entire planet (Carroué, 2012). The carrying capacity of planet Earth has reached its apex and does not allow expanding western standards of living (a house, two cars, etc.) to China, India, Brazil, Russia and other countries. American (and European) political elites cannot stop Chinese, Indian, Brazilian, and Russian elites from modernizing their countries. American companies pay manufacturing workers in China one–tenth the pay of American employees at the same job in the United States (Griffin, Moorhead, 2010). How can the American ruling class stop its own employers from off-shoring their investments into China, India, or Brazil? The United States lost its leadership in manufacturing to China in 2011. America prints more dollars and builds more aircraft carriers. The West can slow the pace of modernization of these competitors by economic, diplomatic, and military actions. Direct military conflict with major competitors is too dangerous and would require a military draft. But Americans do not want to go to a major war. It is easier for American (and European) elites to export “democracy” to North African and Middle Eastern countries and then ally with the Islamists who triumphed in elections, for example. In doing so, America and Europe could possibly cut fast growing Chinese and Indian economies from vital suppliers of oil and natural gas. Manageable chaos in North African and Middle Eastern countries could easily spread into geographically close East Asia. This could possibly make oil sheiks less interested in increasingly lucrative financial opportunities in East Asian countries. Another option is to introduce the amero in NAFTA countries (perhaps only for residents of the United States and Canada) and to say “goodbye” to the American dollar outside of this trade bloc (Khazin, 2009). Thus, renewal of the ruling class in America may be delayed for some time by political reality. This is what the American ruling class attempts to do. But this political reality is possible only 1) when a crisis related to the renewal of the ruling class is not led off track by false doctrines and surrogate issues, and 2) when this crisis is managed by a distinguished statesman (Mosca, 1939: 463).

If re-elected, could Barack Obama take the initiative in reforming the American ruling class? Could he find ways to reach consensus among clashing political elites? Or, would he choose to abandon the normative politics and to switch to post-modernism? The second choice would require participation in a political process where every result obtained changes the rules used to obtain them. Is Obama a statesman who is aware of the needs and ends of American society and knows the best means for leading Americans to these goals? Or, is he just another politician who has qualifications for reaching the presidency and knows how to stay there?

Carroué, L. Industrie, socle de la puissance. Le Monde diplomatique, Mars, 2012. Available at http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2012/03/CARROUE/47485

Delyagin, M. Pochemu Oktiabr’ ne Pridet za Fevralem [Why October will not follow February]. Forum.msk.ru, August 7, 2012. Available at http://forum-msk.org/material/politic/9549701.html

Griffin, R. W., Moorhead, G. (2010) Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations. Mason, OH: South-Western.

Gurfinkiel, M. La hantise du déclin. Valeurs actuelles, Août 30, 2012. Available at http://www.valeursactuelles.com/dossier-dactualit%C3%A9/dossier-dactualit%C3%A9/hantise-d%C3%A9clin20120828.html

Khazin, M. (2009). Amero [Video file]. Available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH3iQvIWFv4

Melber, A. What happened to post-racial America? Reuters, October 11, 2012. Available at http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2012/10/11/what-happened-to-post-racial-america/

Mosca, G. (1939) The Ruling Class (Elementi di Scienza Politica). New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.