The real work of predation has been done by sheriffs, IRS agents, lawyers, judges, and an army of bureaucrats. Overseeing all this activity is the clergy (or other moral leaders) whose job it is to see that everyone agrees this is the best possible arrangement.

The modern equivalent of the clergy are the conservative media. The job of Fox, the WSJ, the FT and the Econo is to promote holy writ and the actions that support it, no matter how ridiculous the justifications and disconnected from reality the results.

As for judges and lawyers - they aren't necessarily supporters of predation. The supporters are more like mercenaries who use symbolic violence as a substitute for physical violence. But there are also judges and lawyers who work to oppose predation; I'm not sure if they count as producers, or not.

What's interesting is the absence of the political class from this picture. My take on it is that parliamentary politics is almost ireelevant. The best the producers can hope for is slightly more humane living conditions and perhaps some free time.

The predators are the ones in charge, and they're likely to remain in charge.