Special Providence_ American Foreign Policy and How It Changed World - Walter Russell Mead

326 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

drawnprimarilyfromthehomesoftheelite,andJacksoniansaresmart
enoughtoknowthatthechildrenofWilsonianwarhawkswillgenerally
stayfar,farawayfromtheslaughterhousesofourfuturewars.Jefferson-
iansqueamishnessaboutAmericanpowerandtheuse offorce strikes
Jacksoniansensibilitiesasweakandmuddleheaded,whiletheJefferson-
iancritiquesofthemotivesandmoralsofAmericanforeignpolicyseem
almostanti-American.
Unfortunatelythelawyers,academics,policymakers,andbusiness
leaderswhomake upsomuchoftheAmericanforeignpolicyleader-
shiparepoorlypreparedtoovercomethesehandicaps.Whiletherehas
beenmuchtalklatelyaboutthedeclineoftheforeignpolicyeliteand
thespreadofforeignpolicyinteresttonew,nontraditionalgroups,the
realityisa littledifferent.Itistruethattheold,focusedforeignpolicy
elite-locatedina handfulofnortheasternblue-chipbanks,white-shoe
lawfirms,andtheveryhighestreachesofwhatwasoncea smallcadreof
professionalmilitarymen-haslostinfluence.Butitsplacehasnotbeen
takenbythemasses.Rather,a diversified neoeliteofeducatedupper-
middle-class professionals andacademics hastaken its place. Drawn
largelyfromperhapsIOoreven 15 percentofthecountry'spopulation
ratherthantheIor 2 percenttraditionallyinvolvedindirectingforeign
policy, theneweliteis bothethnicallyandgeographicallydiverseby
comparisonwiththeold.JewsandCatholicscompeteintheneo-elite on
equaltermswithwhiteProtestants;California,Texas,Florida,andGeor-
giaareheardfromasmuchasNewYork,Massachusetts,andConnecti-
cut.Womenarefarbetterrepresentedthaneverbefore.Furthermorethe
neo-eliteis farmore permeablethantheoldeliteeverwas-African
Americans,Hispanics,andAsianAmericansarescaling itsheightswith
greatandwelcomespeed.
Theneo-eliteisnot,however,sociallydiverse:Thatis,itstilloccu-
piesa loftyandnarrowsliceoftheAmericansocialpyramid.Tosome
degree this is bothinevitableand unexceptionable. The problemis
thattheneo-elitehasnotyetacquiredallthecharacteristicsofa viable
leadershipclass-inparticularthecapacitytorepresentandleadtherest
ofsociety.
Preciselybecausetheneo-eliteismuchlargerthantraditionalelites,
itsmembersincreasinglygrowuphavinglittledirectcontactwithor
knowledgeoftheirnon-elitefellowcitizens.Economicsegregationin
theAmericansystemofsuburbsmeans thatmostupper-middle-class
peopleusuallyenduplivingandattendingschoolwithothermembers
oftheirclass.