Institutional Survival

First of all, Farrel has no clue what he is talking about in terms of the current Bush tax cuts.

Even so, his analysis is wrong, at least in the United States.

Elites hold very little power in the US. Compared to a place like France or Germany, the differences are striking.

Most importantly, the intellectual elite is quite separate from the economic elite. Not so in European countries.

And our republican, federalist system of government means that elites simply can't do much on their own. They need broad based coalitions to get things done, and those coalitions need people from non-elites to get things done.

This explains the Democrat party. It has the intellectual elite, but also non-elites like unions, as well as ethnic groups like blacks.

Elites hold very little power in the US. Compared to a place like France or Germany, the differences are striking.

I know that you mean well, but could you please cease calling these people “elites.” These folks are actually the pseudo educated who often possess fraudulent degrees behind their names. We only encourage them further by referring them to them in a positive manner. They should have to earn what they get in life.

Would either of the two authors, Eric or David, kindly offer some sort of argument or evidence to back up these statements?