[MD] The American Ruling Class

[craigerb at comcast.net]

[Arlo]
> your original point was that "they protect each 
> other". That's ludicrous. They fought each other very much.

Actual quote:  "the "ruling class" protect its members against others". 
Maybe the problem isn't your textbook but your reading of it. 
The point is not that in olden times there wasn't competition within 
the ruling class for top dog, but that the ideology (e.g., divine right 
of kings) was the same for either faction.  Today it's quite different. 
There is no such "class solidarity": e.g., conservative elites fight liberal 
elites. 
You are stuck in an 1867 view of class.  You fail to recognize the tremendous 
change (& improvement) in relations/interactions between the classes since then 
(cp. your grandfather). Craig