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

Marvin Gandall marvgandall at videotron.ca
Sun Oct 1 14:03:08 PDT 2006


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.
=============================== 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.



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