And Elon Musk is its knight in shining armor.
The book, by James Burnham (1905-1987; bio here), a New York University academic and political theorist, is “The Managerial Revolution: What Is Happening in the World” (you can get it here).
Nearly all of Burnham’s sweeping predictions — “the coming collapse of capitalism, an Axis victory in World War II, the superior efficiency of state-run enterprises — turned out to be wrong (read Vox article here).
Yet his ideas are enjoying a revival on the anti-“woke” right, Vox says, because of the culture war. And their #1 target isn’t Democrats, but the professional managerial class, whom Burnhamites see as taking over from the capitalist class.
There’s a little problem with their ideology: In today’s U.S. society, billionaires have far more actual power and sway than the societal institutions they’re targeting, which seems to poke holes in their theory. But Burnham’s worldview, though discredited by historical events, does help explain the mindset of someone like Musk:
“If power is increasingly moving away from capitalists and toward the managers they employ, then it’s totally coherent for even the wealthiest people in the country to see themselves as victims of a ‘woke mind virus’ infecting middle and upper management. This is how you get the odd spectacle of people like Musk deploring alleged censorship perpetrated by their own companies: They see their staff not as subordinates whose conduct is an internal company matter, but as rivals in the struggle for power who must be defeated.”
It also helps explain Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ war against companies that embrace ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing strategies; DeSantis argues a company’s only legitimate mission is to make money for investors, and corporate responsibility be damned (see story here). (Sidebar: Is that someone you want as president?)
Burnham saw the world as unending struggle between societal groups — capitalists, managers, workers, etc. — for power and position in society. So did Marx, Hitler, and other ideologues. But does anyone really have to win and dominate to the exclusion of others? Can’t society’s fruits be shared, and a balance achieved between competing groups, so everybody will get along? That doesn’t mean we all have to live in hippie communes (another failed idea); it simply means everybody gets a piece of the action that their efforts and hard work creates.