Trump is the only figure you listed that didn’t come to elite power through climbing the Bureaucratic class and the only one who would still be rich if the sacred cows had never been sacred...
Could you define the bureaucratic class for me here? Is it only defined by working in government, or is it the broader coalition of traditionally "elite" structures—universities, media, major businesses, and so forth?
I ask because a Wharton graduate who ran a real estate business, pageants, and a TV show fits my own model of "climbing the Bureaucratic class," though I wouldn't choose that own phrasing myself. He's always been pretty embedded in various high-profile bureaucracies and institutions. Like, he's not an outsider to mainstream power structures. He's the essence of them. About half of the current Senate and House openly embraces him now as well, and wealthier people were more likely to support him than Clinton, making it hard for me to see a clear definition of "bureaucratic class" that treats him as an existential threat unless "bureaucratic class" is more or less synonymous with "mainstream liberal/left perspective."
I’ll admit Trump’s kinda of a mess because he represents the old Crony-capitalist class from the progressive era to like 1980.
Like he did make his fortune by actually producing goods (buildings) and running his own businesses, but his margins and ability to operate were entirely dependant on being able to buy/trade political favours... like if this were an Ayn Rand novel he’d either be a moocher or a morally bankrupt businessman willing to play along with them...right down to the the inherited wealth he’s really a Jim Taggart type, except he explicitly brands himself, and seems to genuinely believe, he’s a genius self-made Hank Rearden type. Which really explains his eclectic support and economic policies.
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The Bureaucratic class is really different from the old crony capitalist class, they’re mediocre functionaries who wouldn’t have the skill to even run a crony enterprise like trumps , but all the Trumps and businesses of the world have to hire them because they’re the only people with the qualifications they’re allowed to hire based on.
The Bureaucratic class is simply the core of university graduates who don’t have any extraordinary skill in anything, except for not setting of the heresy hunters... you could hire a kid directly out of high-school to do the same job, but then you’d both open yourself up to a disparate impact assessment (why are you hiring that high-school graduate instead of these high-school graduates? Is it his diction and obvious intelligence!? So you are saying these high-school graduates don’t strike you as intelligent!!!) and then that highschool graduate, despite probably being more energized, keen to preform, and maybe capable than your average midrange university grad, simply doesn’t know the language! at the first HR mandated meeting he’ll say something stupid because he hasn’t spent 4 years having the Taboos drilled into him, and then he’ll have to be fired and you as his employer will be exposed to lawsuits.
James Damore wasn’t exceptional in the grand scheme of American life , his piece probably represented the opinion of what something like 50%+ of American’s would conclude if prompted by their employer to think of these things, he simply presented that (somewhat obvious) conclusion with an impressive quality of research and presentation. No, What was exceptional about James Damore was that he was so goddamn autistic that even 4 goddamn years of university hadn’t trained him to STFU.
This is why the bureaucratic class, despite having no exceptional qualities whatsoever can manage to jump from institution to institution, business to NGO to Government to finance, ect. And retain a really cushy existence despite their evident lack of skill, you can only hire based on the pieces of paper they hold, and anyone who doesn’t speak their language is going to be slowly tripped up and muscled out of any cushy or non-essential position to make way for one of them.
And even though the market doesn’t provide enough positions of that sort, the state runs a massive jobs program for this class in the form of all their own bureaucracies and agencies, and all the compliance and HR positions they force on private enterprises.