Superclass Exposes Global Elite . . .Sort Of

What do Bill Clinton, Osama Bin Laden, and Bono have in common? All are members of the powerful global elite that’s reshaping the planet, David Rothkopf argues in his new book Superclass. But Rothkopf’s isn’t a conspiracy-laden indictment, writes Salon’s Laura Miller. Rather, he contends that the superclass isn’t all bad—it’s at least competent and, occasionally, generous.

Rothkopf, a political consultant who served in the Clinton administration,  has identified roughly 6,000 superclass members—people who can “regularly influence the lives of millions of people in multiple countries.” These titans form a closely knit community for whom national boundaries mean little. Rothkopf tries to stay neutral, advocating transnational “governance” groups to rein in the uber-powerful, but he’s also something of an insider, and his sympathies shine through. (More Davos stories.)