Mr. Kaus: As you observed we are becoming or already are a caste society. There is one thing about this though that I never see commented upon. In the old days the aristocracy partially earned their privileges by leading in the wars. In republican Rome a senator had better be good in war or he had no political career. In the England of old the same pattern existed. Off to the front you go Earl and Duke. Our new aristocrats don’t go anywhere near the front. How is that going to play out in the future when a real war comes? And it will. It doesn’t seem as if that will make for stability, as eventually the guys who wield the iron for some gold will eventually figure out they can just take the gold.