Re: Ceaucescu and Romanian transition

["Devine, James" <jdevine@xxxxxxx>]

CC writes:>Most of them [member of the rulign class] are pretty damn competent, though
it's because of their connections that they get to exercise that competence.<

True. The power elite (the organized body of the dominant fraction of the ruling class and its political and military helpers) largely consists of competent people, with obvious exceptions such as Dubya (whose incompetence is compensated for by people like Cheney & Rove). 

Even so, we have to recognize that even the most competent power elite can fall for the trap of believing its own propaganda. This opens the way for being replaced by a different ruling-class power elite -- or for a fundamental shift in class relations.

Jim D.