>I was actually thinking about the ruling classes of
>Europe whose conduct lead to their own destruction.
>This kind of phenomenon is noted in jared Diamond;'s
>Collapse and versions of it are familiar from game
>theory with n-person prisoner's dilemmas, where
>rational action by each leads to worse outcomes for
>all. The nuclear arms race looked to be heading that
>way before the collpase of the USSR, the the threat to
>rgew environment has that structure too. Moreover it
>is nor always easy to know one's class interest even
>apart from paradoxes of rationality. One thinks of
>the US govt response to the stock market crash of '29,
>Hitler's gratuitious declaration of war on the US, and
>the US ruling class; neoimperialist project under
>Bush.
The US ruling class is looking a little ragged to me - maybe a little like the Euro ruling classes on their eve of destruction (cue Barry McGuire). The presidency of W, himself the product of the old ruling class, seems evidence of extreme short-sightedness. There's a difference between not knowing your own interests in the fog of the present and not even thinking seriously about it becuase you're too busy counting your millions.
Doug