Barbed Wire Enclosed Spaces and Places: Elites, Ethnic Tensions and Public Policy‪.‬

Introduction Jeff Faux opens his engaging book, The Global Class War, with a dazzling story that tells us a great deal about the compelling power of elites. In 1993, Faux had a lively conversation with a corporate lobbyist in the corridors of the United States Capitol who was trying to make him "see the virtues of the proposed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)" that her company was supporting. (1) After some exasperation over her failure to make Faux understand the hefty significance of the treaty, the lobbyist finally said to him: "Don't you understand? We have to help Salinas. He's been to Harvard. He's one of us." (2) The lobbyist was referring to Carlos Salinas who was president of Mexico at the time.