Who Are the "Ruling Class" Today?

A panel with Doug Henwood, Ho-fung Hung & Göran Therborn reflecting on the contours of the "ruling class" today.

Doug Henwood analyzes changes in the composition and ideology of the "ruling class" in America since the 1970s, placing this in the context of financialization and neoliberalization. Compared to the old ruling bloc, which shaped American society and the global economy after World War II, he argues that the contemporary ruling class is a relatively debased and incoherent formation with few ambitions beyond the pursuit of enrichment.

Ho-fung Hung assesses the dynamics of inter-imperial rivalry between the U.S. and China, and analyzes how this has driven development in both countries. He historicizes divisions within the American “ruling class” in relation to its China policy, connecting his analysis to shifting dynamics within the world system.

Finally, Göran Therborn discusses the changing character and processes of capitalist power globally. He organizes his presentation around important transformations that have taken place since the publication of What Does the Ruling Class Do When It Rules?. Notably, financialization, globalization and the marketization of the state itself. He concludes by arguing that while capitalist rule is stronger, harsher, and more secure today than in the 1970s, it is nevertheless facing four major factors of insecurity which could impact the stability of the capitalist system.

This event was co-sponsored by Conter magazine.

Doug Henwood is a journalist, economic analyst, podcaster and the author of “Take Me to Your Leader: The Rot of the American Ruling Class”. Henwood is the host of Behind the News. His writing has appeared in The Nation, Harper’s Magazine, Grand Street, The Village Voice, Newsday, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian and Jacobin. He is a contributing editor at The Nation.

Ho-fung Hung is Henry M. and Elizabeth P. Wiesenfeld Professor in Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of several books: China and The Transformation of Global Capitalism (2009), Protest with Chinese Characteristics (2011), and The China Boom: Why China Will Not Rule the World (2016). His analyses of Chinese political economy and Hong Kong politics have been featured or cited in The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, BBC News, The Guardian, Folha de S. Paulo (Brazil), The Straits Times (Singapore), Xinhua Monthly (China), and People’s Daily (China), among other publications.

Göran Therborn is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Cambridge. His pathbreaking book, What Does the Ruling Class Do When It Rules? is a groundbreaking Marxist analysis of the relationship between economic and state power. His other books include Between Sex and Power (2004), The Killing Fields of Inequality (2013) and Cities of Power (2017). He is a regular contributor to New Left Review and other journals, and his works have been published in at least twenty-four languages.