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| | The Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making |  | Author: David J. Rothkopf
Publisher: Little, Brown
Category: Book
Buy Used: $598.78
Avg. Customer Rating:  26 reviews
Format: Import
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
ISBN: 0316030295
EAN: 9780316030298
ASIN: 0316030295
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...
 starry eyes November 26, 2008
Hmmm... maybe i am missing something but Rothkopf's thesis appears to be that what makes successful people successful is success. And connections it brings. While the starry-eyed, breathless and reverent descriptions of assorted billionaire tycoons, financial wheelers & dealers and military brass may be annoying to some reviewers here, Rothkopf is in fact at his best enumerating the incestuous relationships between financial, political, military and entertainment industries in the US of A. Fex, we learn that the board of Citibank includes (or hopefully, included) the ex-CIA John Deutsch and (now infamous) ex-Secretary Robert Rubin; the board of AIG included ex-Secretary William Cohen, former CEA chairman Feldstein, former Ambassador Holbrooke, former SEC chief Sutton ... and on it goes, to John Major joining the Carlyle Group etc. Apparently, Rothberg believes that there is one vast network of a few hundred well-connected people who are running the show on this planet through hubs at meetings of the Bilderberg, Trilateral Commission & Davos crowds. And he loves'em all.
on he goes, breathlessly, citing peerless visions of Alan greenspan and his ideological buddy Schwartzman, of Blackstone. A Rothkopf quote may be in order here to get a sense of the man's writing style (p.119): "While not speaking with the kind of historical insight of Greenspan, Schwartzman illustrated another major consequence of the epochal awakening of our age..... America is losing competitiveness because of regulations like the Sarbanes-Oxley".
hmmm... "historical insight of Alan Greenspan"? "excessive regulations?" "unreasonable regulations like the Sarbanes-Oxley?" ... the only thing missing is a Phil Gramm quote! No mater how crooked or unprincipled, what seems to matter to David R. is that his superclass hero has money and influence. Is it surprising then to see that his principal superhero is no other than that ultimate altruist and lover of humanity, Kissinger?
I do have to say that -as far as i am concerned - Rothkopf's personal political instincts are fundamentally decent with one glaring exception. When it comes to Israel and the Palestinian question, Rothkopf seems to be unfairly biased. There are quotes about "Israeli military authorities" dealing with "Palestinian terrorists", that in my opinion preclude rational analysis. An analysis which might suggest that Palestinians are simply desperate people whose land was appropriated by a well-financed, well-organized system in many cases financed by members of Rothkopf's "Superclass". We have been watching systematic ethnic cleansing and apartheid for decades and nobody dares to lift a finger. What does this say about our political-economic superelite?
In a nutshell, while I can't remember a single major idea or insight I do not regret spending the time.
Cotton Candy November 15, 2008
I was hoping to find a book that I could sink my teeth into and digest some good facts and ideas. I was disappointed wading through this cotton candy environment with little to sink my teeth into. The author provides some interesting ideas and insights but you really need to wade through a lot of biased, agenda driven narrative to find those few nuggets of information.
The author does little to provide a veneer of objectivity. His constant name dropping and references of who he talked to and where does little to provide a base of his authority.
The author seems to enjoy breathing the same rarified air of the elite and obviously wants to be part of their world and espouse their worldview. Due to this obsession and the nature of his job, he must maintain a good working relationship with this network of people and therefore there is little to NO criticism of his esteemed elite or go hungry.
 Alternative Title: "I'm Great! I'm in with the IN Crowd" September 20, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book takes a LOT of time to say very little. In summary, here's what the author takes several hundred pages to tell us:
a) The world is ruled by an informal group of about 6,000 people;
b) I [the author] am one of them! Aren't I special?
c) I know who the others are---but I'm not going to tell you!
d) They all get together once each year in Davos;
e) Davos is quaint, and has good restaurants, but inadequate lodging; and,
f) Oh, did I forget to tell you? I'M one of the Davos world elite! I AM special!
bunch of unorganized words August 28, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I borrowed this book from a public library. Otherwise, I would be regret ever buying this book. The author must be a powerful person as I can't see how the publisher would publish such a book with lot of words, with little meat. The flow of thoughts are poorly organized. The only take I have from this book is Davos is a cool place to be when all the big names are in town.
 Globalization - yes- but 'nationalism' now more so August 19, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The world is ruled by an elite class , the superclass consisting in roughly six- thousand people, overwhelmingly male. This Superclass includes not only the Big Business elite, but heads of State, and even religious leaders like the Pope, and crime - bosses. These people, the one in a million who influence many millions are part of a global structure in which they trade and deal with each other.
They are the few who influence the many.
Rothkopf takes a tour around the world with them, speaks privately and interviews many. He goes to their famous meeting grounds, perhaps most famously, Davos and learns how they operate with global and not national concerns in mine.
In the course of the exploration Rothkopf provides a great deal of information, and insight. He provides portraits of figures most of us have never heard anything about, no matter how powerful they be.
All this is fine, but my sense is the central thesis is somewhat exaggerated and mistaken. Another world- affairs analyst Fred Kagan has recently written about how old national rivalries are as alive as ever, how competition between states still rules the world. The picture of these Davos people does not exactly expunge that of the Chinese now staging their grand show in Beijing. Old- style nationalism and national pride is helping drive them to leadership in the world. There are forces at work in history beyond those which Rothkopf attributes as being in the hands of elite.
One can learn much from this book, but it only tells a small part of the whole story of how the world moves and decides.
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