[MillsT_98] Speaking of which, when did the "new elite" become the "old elite"? I know right now the Boomer elite is now the old elite but I know back in the 2T they were the new elite, but when was the turning point?
[Mike]It’s not generational. Bob is referring to elite factions. An elite faction is a group who has a seat at the table when national policy is decided upon. For example the Religious Right is an elite faction who was given a seat at the table by the post-Reagan GOP.
Big landowners had a seat at the national table at the founding, but lost it during the Civil War. The industrial capitalist elite did not exist at the founding. it appeared during the Civil War saeculum and became dominant in the next. Bob sees the first of these as an "old" elite who was displaced by "new" elite as a result of the Civil War 4T.
Not all elites get displaced by new ones. Wealthy financiers are an economic elite who has had a seat at the political table since the nation’s founding. Since a capitalist economy requires money and capital markets to function this elite will always be with us.
At any time the individuals representing these elite factions do not necessarily come from different generations. Members of an old elite are not necessarily older than members of a new elite.
[Mike]It’s not generational. Bob is referring to elite factions. An elite faction is a group who has a seat at the table when national policy is decided upon. For example the Religious Right is an elite faction who was given a seat at the table by the post-Reagan GOP.
Big landowners had a seat at the national table at the founding, but lost it during the Civil War. The industrial capitalist elite did not exist at the founding. it appeared during the Civil War saeculum and became dominant in the next. Bob sees the first of these as an "old" elite who was displaced by "new" elite as a result of the Civil War 4T.
Not all elites get displaced by new ones. Wealthy financiers are an economic elite who has had a seat at the political table since the nation’s founding. Since a capitalist economy requires money and capital markets to function this elite will always be with us.
At any time the individuals representing these elite factions do not necessarily come from different generations. Members of an old elite are not necessarily older than members of a new elite.