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

TheFutureof AmericanForeignPolicy 327

Membersoftheneo-eliteincreasinglyowetheirpositionsinlifeto
longyearspassedinacademia-theclosestthinginAmericanlifetoa
sanctuaryfromthenon-elite.Today'sNationalSecurityCouncil,Trea-
suryDepartment,orStateDepartmentstafferislesslikelythanhisorher
predecessoroffiftyyearsagotohaveservedinthearmedforces;tohave
passeda significantpartoflifeoutsidethecloisteredwallsoftheacademy;
ortohavemuchcontactwiththe 250 millionAmericanswhofallbelow
theeconomicandsocialstandardsofthe uppermiddleclass.
ThisgrowingsocialgapinAmericanlifeispartlya resultofbroad
socialchangessuchastheriseoftwo-incomehouseholds,andpartlya
resultofthechangesinthenationaleconomy.Sincepeopleofthesame
educationalleveltendtomarryoneanother,andsinceincomeinequality
ishighlycorrelatedwithdifferencesineducationallevels,theriseofa
largeclass.ofprofessionalwomenhastendedtowidentheeconomicand
social differences between professional and nonprofessional families.
Combinedwitha markedincreaseinincomeinequalitygenerally,the
UnitedStatesnow has a largegroupofpeople-I havecalledit the
"supermiddleclass"-withhouseholdincomesinexcessof$100,000.
Manyhaveincomesthree,four,andfivetimesthe 1998 medianhouse-
holdincomeof$38,885.17
Paradoxically,theoldeliteinsomewayshadmorecontactwithordi-
naryAmericansthanmanymembersoftheneo-elitecanclaim.Because
theoldelitewassucha smallgroupofpeople,itsmembers-andespe-
ciallytheboys,fromwhoserankstheforeignpolicyleadershipwould
emerge---<:ouldnotasa practicalmattergrowupisolatedfromtherestof
society.Inaddition,leadingmembersoftheeliteplacedanenormous
valueonensuringthattheirsonsandpupilshada tasteof"reallife"with
"realpeople."TeddyRoosevelt,anearlyapostleofthestrenuouslife,
livedandworkedwithcowboysinMontana.EndicottPeabody,who,as
theheadmasterofGroton,preparedFranklinRoosevelt,DeanAcheson,
JosephAlsop,andMcGeorgeBundyfornationalleadership,preparedfor
hisschoolresponsibilitiesbyservingasa missionpriestinTombstone,
Arizona,duringitsfrontierdays. BookslikeKipling'sCaptainsCoura-
geousinsttuctedgenerationsofprivilegedyoungmenthattheywouldnot
matureuntiltheyleftthecocoonofupper-classprivilege.
ThestoryistoldthatonesummerCalvinCoolidgeorderedhisson
CalvinjuniortoworkinthetobaccofieldsoftheConnecticutValley."If
myfatherwasPresident,"saidtheastonishedfarmworkernexttohim
whenhediscoveredtheyoungman'sidentity,"Iwouldn'tbeworkingin
a tobaccofield."