

Meet the World's Super Class: Why They Call the Shots - edw519
http://www.newsweek.com/id/130637/output/print

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aggieben
I find the conclusion bizarre...

There has always been a class of ruling super-elites. Always has, always will
be. Period.

The beauty of free-market capitalism (coupled with representative
republicanism) is that the class is very fluid and far more transparent.
People rise to "eliteness" and fall back down again - and far, far more people
today have a shot at this kind of eliteness than ever have before. A lot of
the old rules still apply (e.g., it helps to start off rich), but a lot of the
old rules have been broken (e.g., you don't have to be the king's son).

What's the author's proposed solution (in search of a problem?)? Global
governance! Yes, that's right. Let's take a system whereby people have the
opportunity and fortune to become part of the elite by merit or sheer good
luck or grassroots political support and change it so that only those who are
approved may become part of the elite, and let's give that small group
absolute power, and give them a structure by which they will never lose their
eliteness, and make sure that merit or good luck has nothing to do with it,
and oh, by the way, there won't be any way at all for them to be held
accountable.

 _Great_ idea.

~~~
keating
> _There has always been a class of ruling super-elites. Always has, always
> will be. Period._

Depends on the culture and technology level. With primitive technology in
certain cultures, there's a "big man" who still has to farm his own yams but
who gets a little more input generally -- however, he doesn't actually get to
_order_ people about. Then you get a little more technology and some bigwig is
bossing people around.

I think we will come out the other side where technology is so advanced that
nobody really needs to depend on other people, thus we will be independently
equal, and thus, not be ruled over. Not to mention, with nonbiological
intelligence, the difference between any two humans intellectually will just
be noise.

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Readmore
Sorry I can't up-vote any article that mentions Mark Zuckerberg as one of the
world's "SuperClass". Does anyone really think Facebook has, even within an
order of magnitude, the same world-wide pull as the Fed? I'm pretty sure Bear
Stearns didn't call in their VPs through Facebook Chat.

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cellis
I disagree with you. I think the influence of facebook (and other social
networks), especially in helping to bring large groups of people together for
a common cause, is understated. Also, mark Zuckerberg _is_ one of the worlds
SuperClass, at least if your basis for this is on wealth,as hes worth at least
$1 billion.

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pchristensen
"hes worth at least $1 billion"

On paper.

~~~
keating
Together, he and I are worth one billion twenty-four dollars and eighteen
cents.

~~~
keating
On paper.

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tricky
I'm sorry, but this guy really needed to do some research. He doesn't even
mention the Pentavirate... You know, The Queen, The Vatican, The Gettys, The
Rothschilds, _and_ Colonel Sanders before he went tits up.

~~~
keating
When he went tits-up was it dark meat or light?

~~~
tricky
it was that addictive chemical that makes you crave it fortnightly

