Class consciousness is a relative, not absolute, quality. It is "ratios" of class awareness that matter. With working class consciousness so low in North America, the ruling class can almost fly us on automatic pilot. It's like shootin' fish in a barrel for the bourgeoisie today. "Literally" an Alfred P. Newman-type can do it.
Charles Brown
^^^^^ In general, don't ruling classes rule by being more conscious of their class interests (or at least an executive sector of the class is so conscious) than the classes that they rule ? There has to be a high level of class consciousness in the effective active sector of that class in order for the system to persist.
On the other hand, perhaps this class consciousness need only be at a high level when there is a crisis or challenge to ruling. In other words, it is when the ruled class' consciousness is high that the ruling class' consciousness must be very high.
"I'm not sure we have one now - and in part because they're too focused on accumulating capital to worry about the conditions of their own reproduction."
Plus, at least in the U.S., the working class is in even more disarray and a state of lacking consciousness than the ruling class. So the ruling class consciousness of its battles with the working class doesn't have to be that focussed. Anything the ruling class does right now doesn't result in the working class moving toward revolution.
CB