Toynbee & McLuhan

But university professors today are really nothing more than specialists themselves--to a large degree, they help legitimize the rule of a wealthy or power elite. I would argue that the "creative minority" has long since become the "dominant minority." In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Weber shows how a new class of wealthy arose in the early days of capitalism. Governed by the protestant ideology of that time which stressed thrift and wealth as signs of being among God's 'elect', the early capitalists amassed great fortunes. This process is exemplified in early America where there was far less conflict between the old feudal aristocracy and rising capitalist class. These early capitalists would rightly be considered the "creative minority" in America.

Their descendants have consolidated their power and resources, have largely ceased expanding economic opportunities from which the broader society may benefit, and in fact have arranged the economic system in such a way as to help continually redistribute wealth to the wealthy (i.e., themselves). In effect, the descendants of the early capitalists have become the "dominant minority."

McLuhan marking. and, coberst, welcome to A2K.