> Those who write op-eds and the like aren't necessarily members of the
> ruling class, though they can't be.
>
> In my view, the power elite (those who directly run governments and
> other institutions) and the ruling class (those who own the means of
> production) are not necessarily the same people, though there is an
> overlap between them.
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Do you regard op-ed regulars like Kissinger, Brzezinski, Soros, Zinni,
Woolsey, Carter, Rubin, Summers, Scowcroft, et al as belonging to the
"ruling class" or "power elite", and what does it really matter unless you
think there are different or conflicting interests implied in these
sociological categories? They are all influential representatives of the
ruling class, power elite, or haute bourgeoisie -call it what you will - and
have a wide following within it. They have all been at the centre of power.
It seems to me that the significant divisions between the leaders of the corporate, executive, legislative, judicial, administrative, coercive, and ideological institutions are not primarily structural, but political - between those individuals broadly identified as belonging to the "liberal" or "enlightened" fraction of the bourgeoisie and those associated with its "conservative" or "reactionary" wing, and shades in between.