The Power Pyramid

Interesting debates on a wide range of topics can occur among readers of this blog, or members of CRN's Global Task Force, or people we associate with in other similar organizations -- but no matter how cogent our discussions might be, how much power do we truly have in making our ideas matter?

I've been thinking about this issue for quite some time. Last September, I drew up a small diagram (below) to illustrate the power disparity, as I saw it, and showed the graphic to several colleagues for their reaction. Almost everyone accepted the basic proposal, and no one, as I recall, had any argument with my estimate that only about one in a million among us -- about six thousand people in the whole world -- possesses enough power to effect change on a global basis.

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

In his recently published book Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making, David Rothkopf writes about the world's power elite who "ride on Gulfstreams, set the global agenda, and manage the credit crunch in their spare time," and who "have more in common with each other than their countrymen."

A long article by Rothkopf in the April 14, 2008, issue of Newsweek summarizes his arguments and describes how he defines this 'superclass':

So how does one become a member? As ever, being rich certainly helps. Many superclass members are wealthy, wealthier in relative terms than any elite ever has been. The top 10 percent of all people, for example, now control 85 percent of all wealth on the planet. But wealth is only part of the equation. Power is the other currency of any true elite, and if we want to understand the superclass, we need to look at those who have influence that crosses borders—one of the factors that differentiates them from most of the elites of history, whose influence was predominantly national or even more local in nature. 

One can debate who is in and who is out endlessly. . . This is a very fluid ranking. But for the purposes of trying to understand the nature of today's topmost global elite, working with the above criteria, I have ended up with a core group of somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000 people—meaning that each one is "one in a million."

Well, imagine my surprise when I read that. Originally I'd pulled the numbers out of my hat (or anywhere else you'd prefer to name) as little more than an educated guess. But it looks like my intuition was correct, or at least that someone else with access to much more information came to the same basic conclusion. 

Again, from the Newsweek article:

Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of Wall Street's Blackstone Group, says, "The world is pretty small. In almost every one of the areas in which I am dealing or in which we at Blackstone are looking at deals, you find it is just 20, 30 or 50 people worldwide who drive the industry or the sector." Numbers tell the same tale. If you take just the people who serve in top management positions or on the boards of the five biggest companies in the world, you'll find they also serve on the boards of an additional 140 other major companies and 22 universities. To Schwarzman, being a member of the superclass means being able to "get to anybody in the world with one phone call."

So, what does this mean? How can those of us in the small green segment of the global pyramid above make an impact on the much tinier red segment at the top? Is there any real hope for that? Or are we just spitting into the wind as we hold forth with our opinions?

Mike Treder

Comments

[Green Segment Guy]

Getting the attention of red segment people takes the same type of effort that reaching any other person takes. You must establish common interests and goals and be prepared to sell your idea in 30 seconds. I've worked for red segment type guys and they don't all have recto-cranial disorder. The ones I know are extremely focused on their accumulation of wealth and power, but they do have interests like the arts, environment and public policy.

ID the red-seg's who's interests intersect your own, find a link to them (ie, alumni associations, org's they support), and work the six degrees that separate you. If you clearly state your value proposition and explicitly solicit the support of powerful people, you will be able to make contact.

Powerful people accumulate power in order to use it, so be sure they understand that your ideas will further their own agendas. Since you've already identified the red-seg's who share your goals, you have focused your efforts on getting the attention of the people most likely to take interest in what you have to say.

[Michael Anissimov]

To answer your question, yes we can.

Congratulations on this support for your theory! I see that the book has some interesting negative reviews on Amazon, though. In general I agree with the gist of the idea.

[Brian wang]

We have discussed the theory before and I have agreed with most of it. However, on further reconsideration I believe that there are problems, solutions and changes that are implementable/addressable at the grass roots or green segment level.

I think for CRNs issues it would have to be finding ways to get the engagement and commitment of more labs/universities and researchers and students shifted more to the nanofactory path versus NNI. Plus the launching of more projects that regular folk can contribute resources and effort. Folding at home type stuff.

[Totally Consumed]

"How can ... (we) ... make an impact on the much tinier red segment at the top ... are we just spitting into the wind as we hold forth with our opinions?"

Even if it's minuscule, there remains a direct, positive correlation between the volume of spit and the amount of impact at the top. In light of this fact, even if it covers our faces with our own spittle, we should expectorate until our dry mouths, cracked and bleeding, can spit no more.

[Kevin D. Keck]

The power of money and force are not as great as the power of ideas.

Plato was right: ideas rule the world, and, as men's minds will receive new ideas, laying aside the old and effete, the world will advance: mighty revolutions will spring from them; creeds and even powers will crumble before their onwards march crushed by the irresistible force.

[Kevin D. Keck]

BTW, I strongly disagree with Mr. Pollard's Multhusian views on "overpopulation". But I very much like the rest of what he says in that piece, and especially relevant is the Lakoff stuff about frames, and the stuff about stories.