bitch wrote:
>
> Weird. I haven't investigated the link further as of yet, but this was the
> same stat they used in a poli sci textbook for an intro course in 1985?! I
> take it pioneering must be in terms of their methodology.
I suspect that this figure has been constant for at least 4000+ years, going back to the first urban cultures, and will remain constant so long as class society endures. About 2$ of the population dominate, probably with another %2-%4 as sort of outliers who pick up crumbs and provide a political/military/ideological base. That's around 15 million in the u.s. at present, a number that probably should be adjusted to include only adults.
Carrol