The Managerial Revolution: What is Happening in the World

by James Burnham

In the sixteenth century, many persons consciously wanted to get rid of the feudal lords and feudal exactions, to build strong national states, and so on. They wanted these things from diverse motives: a love of freedom, a wish for more material comforts, often from religious motives—a hatred and rejection of the Catholic Church. On the other hand, many of the capitalists of the time did not want these things. Their highest ambition was often to become feudal lords. They often were afraid that strong national states would interfere too much with the independent cities where their economic base had previously been. The majority of the great sixteenth-century financiers and merchants of south Germany were good Catholics, and supported the Catholic emperor and thus, indirectly, Rome in the religious wars. Nevertheless, the results, when won, in spite of motives, benefited primarily the capitalists—if not the individual capitalists who had taken part in the struggles, then other capitalists. Just so do the results of doing away with the capitalists, of establishing state ownership of the instruments of production, from whatever motives the aims are pursued, act to the primary benefit of the managers and toward the consolidation of a social structure in which the managers will be the ruling class.