America's Ruling Class

Angelo M Codevilla brings us this lengthy essay that looks at the coming conflict between what he calls the "country class" and the ruling class. That we now have a ruling class that has embedded itself in positions of power is beyond serious debate. The question for the two-thirds of Americans who belong to the country class, i.e. regular Americans of the bitter and clingy variety, is how do we reverse the travesty that has been forced on us.

It is a very large question because the ruling class has spent considerable time and effort over the years creating the political machine that they control and from which they benefit. It has tentacles that reach into nearly every area of American life and will be very difficult to dislodge. But dislodge it we must, or we will lose that which has made America the great nation that it is and we will be no better, and no different, than the rest of the world from which our ancestors escaped.

Sooner or later, well or badly, that majority's demand for representation will be filled. Whereas in 1968 Governor George Wallace's taunt "there ain't a dime's worth of difference" between the Republican and Democratic parties resonated with only 13.5 percent of the American people, in 1992 Ross Perot became a serious contender for the presidency (at one point he was favored by 39 percent of Americans vs. 31 percent for G.H.W. Bush and 25 percent for Clinton) simply by speaking ill of the ruling class. Today, few speak well of the ruling class. Not only has it burgeoned in size and pretense, but it also has undertaken wars it has not won, presided over a declining economy and mushrooming debt, made life more expensive, raised taxes, and talked down to the American people. Americans' conviction that the ruling class is as hostile as it is incompetent has solidified. The polls tell us that only about a fifth of Americans trust the government to do the right thing. The rest expect that it will do more harm than good and are no longer afraid to say so.