ABSTRACT
In contrast, elite theory explicitly brings the critical faculty to bear. ‘The elite point of view’, Lowi writes, ‘. . . is part of the spirit of criticism. It is adopted as a point of view precisely because it allows for a more systematic form of treating political phenomena in a combined empirical and normative way’.1 In other words, it allows for the attribution of responsibility, and for the criticism of those who bear it. Given the environmental considerations which underlie my analysis of the growth paradigm, this point of view is appropriate. I will focus in this chapter primarily on the evolution of the emerging stratum of rulers often referred to in critical theory literature as the transnational managerial class (TMC). In the latter part of the chapter, I will discuss the normative foundations of the growth paradigm with particular reference to the malformed idea of economic freedom adopted by the TMC in contemporary international relations.
