[lbo-talk] Wanted: A Major Division in the US Power Elite and Ruling Class (was Curiosity)

[Marvin Gandall]

Yoshie writes:
>
> I happen to think that a major division in the US power elite will be
> very significant, *if* one emerges.  For instance, both the Iranian
> and Sandinista Revolutions happened in part because of Jimmy Carter's
> wavering foreign policy, which reflected real confusion among the US
> power elite and ruling class, in the wake of the Vietnam War and its
> impacts on the home front.
>
> That kind of major division, however, does not exist among the US
> power elite and ruling class yet, for there has been no negative
> impact on profits -- there has been a positive one! -- and no
> uprisings at home.
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The Iraq debacle has lost the Bush administration the confidence of a large
part of the US ruling class (or elite, if you prefer). This is not directly
apparent in relation to the issue of immediate withdrawal because there is
bipartisan class unity that the retreat must be must carefully managed so
that America is not seen to have been routed and its enemies emboldened. But
Iraq has forced Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld to pursue a more cautious foreign
policy line than they otherwise would have been inclined to do towards North
Korea, Iran, and Venezuela.

The Iraqi insurgents deserve the primary credit for this, but they have
conducted their war with US ruling class opinion very much in mind. Since
Vietnam, insurgent guerrilla forces have understood they cannot defeat the
US militarily, and have to do so politically - by fostering splits within
the US ruling class and its allies. Their military strategies are tailored
to this end. Such splits at the top also lend legitimacy to and strengthen
mass opposition from below in relation to both foreign and domestic policy.

While profits have been strong since 2002, this has been due to factors
other than the war in Iraq. If anything, there has been concern about the
tens of billions being spent on the war and the impact on the fiscal
deficit, and more serious concern yet about how Middle East instability in
general threatens the oil supply and the economic and homeland security of
the OECD countries.