Jim Webb helped give the Senate a Democratic majority by defeating George "Macaca" Allen in Virginia. A Vietnam veteran, a war novelist, and the author of a book about the Scots-Irish, Mr. Webb is no stranger to the concerns of the common man. So it comes as no surprise to see his editorial in The Wall Street Journal about "Class Struggle" in America. He, too, is aware of the mounting dominance of the rich and their separation from the rest of us. He cites those familiar figures - the top 1 percent own most of the stocks and earn 16 percent of the national income (twice their share from just 25 years ago), the average CEO earns more than 10 million a year, 400 times what the average worker makes and 1,000 times the income of a person on the miminum wage - and more. Depressingly familiar as these statistics may be, they will forever bear repeating. And Mr. Webb repeats them - which is always a good thing to hear from any politician these days.

He emphasizes that the ever increasing gap between rich and poor has not been sufficiently recognized by those in power. "A sense of entitlement has set in among elites, bordering on hubris. When I raised this issue with corporate leaders during the recent political campaign, I was met repeatedly with denials, and, from some, an overt lack of concern for those who are falling behind," he says. "A troubling arrogance is in the air among the nation's most fortunate." Americans who are suffering economically are dismissed by their own leaders as unfit to compete in the arena of global capitalism. He reminds us that European observers have noted how much more harshly globalization has affected the United States than other Western nations, and fear that in time a protectionist backlash may result and possibly destroy globalization before it can be perfected.

Far more important than any threat to the future of globalization is the very real possibility of social unrest in America, if the forces of corporate greed are allowed to continue unchecked. Mr. Webb asserts that the Democratic victory this fall is a first step towards redressing the wrongs of the last few decades. As he puts it, "The politics of the Karl Rove era were designed to distract and divide the very people who would ordinarily be rebelling against the deterioration of their way of life. Working Americans have been repeatedly seduced at the polls by emotional issues such as the predictable mantra of 'God, guns, gays, abortion and the flag' while their way of life shifted ineluctably beneath their feet. But this election cycle showed an electorate that intends to hold government leaders accountable for allowing every American a fair opportunity to succeed."

Mr. Webb is clearly more than just a tie-breaker. Let's hope that the rest of his fellow Democratic freshmen share his beliefs.

"Class Struggle" from The Wall Street Journal