n--skilled manual workers, lower level
white-collar personnel, and unskilled workers and peasants.

The ruling elite is composed of the top communist leadership in the
party, government, mass organizations, and various branches of the
economy. The main criterion for membership in that elite is power
derived from approved ideological orientation and political activism.
Most members of the ruling elite in 1971 were of lower class background
and were veterans of the communist movement in the interwar period. The
life-style and privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite do not differ much
from those of the intelligentsia, the next level in the social scale,
but the elite holds a monopoly of power.

The intelligentsia consists of those professionals, managers,
technicians, and middle-level party functionaries whose skill and talent
are needed to run the society. Education and competence are usual
criteria for membership in the group as is ideological orthodoxy. In
1970 the intelligentsia numbered somewhat over 1 million persons,
approximately 22 percent of the working population. The size of the
group has been growing rapidly in line with the manpower demands of the
expanding economy. Most members were relatively young, had advanced
educations, and were loyal to communist principles. Their social origins
represented the entire spectrum of precommunist society, but a high
percentage were of peasant or worker background reflecting the
educational advantages afforded to the former lower classes.

The life-style and aspirations of the intelligentsia are those of an
industrial middle class. Because of their key position in the economy,
they command incomes and special benefits that afford them a standard of
living considerably higher than that of the lower levels of the social
scale. Among the benefits that individual members of the intelligentsia
may enjoy are high-quality housing; the use of official cars; access to
special facilities, such as clubs, restaurants, shops, and vacation
resorts; and travel opportunities at home and abroad. The growing
identification of the intelligentsia with the Romanian Communist Party
has also enhanced its privileged status as a group. On an individual
basis, party membership provides access to a network of informal
contacts within the power and control structure, which can open many
doors and win many favors.

Skilled manual workers constitute the top level of the lower social
strata. A conside