The Formation of a Ruling Class

Abstract

The principal sign of the stabilization of a political regime is the creation of a new ruling class. The term "new class" in itself implies something distinct from the old class, but scholars propose various reasons for this novelty. If the type of social organization is one's starting premise, one can see that two models of the mechanism of social regulation are possible: the mechanical (through coercion by the authorities) and the organic (involving a spontaneous self-regulating system). The contrast between a feudal and a bureaucratic principle of organization of society is most illuminating. A feudal state is commonly characterized as a type of political organization that is inherently autarkic and hierarchical, in which each stratum has clearly defined rights and obligations "is-A-vis authority, representing, as it were, a corporate estate within the state. Power is personal (or charismatic, to use Weber's term), and one person exercises all the functions of power: political, economic, legal, and military. In contrast, a bureaucratic system implies a certain separation between society and state, with the latter exercising the functions of general, national representation and administration: for example, collecting taxes and organizing the military and the administrative apparatus [I].