Pericles2 (I hope this isn't going to become confusing)

>>In any case the facts of the British class structure and the attitudes that he described are well known and should not be in dispute.<<

Koestler was not English. He had an outsider's perception of the British class system. As a German Jewish refugee, his assessment of the complexities and nuances of the class structure is as instructive and as relevant as would be his observations on the ebb and flow of a game of cricket.

He simply repeats the same old tired clichés about the upper classes, and with these as basic assumptions, proceeds to argue common purpose with the workers.

Unfortunately, there are many people who think, like you, that this image of the British upper classes is "beyond dispute", when in fact there are subtleties and nuances that extend way beyond the trite simplicity Koestler imagines.

What's the problem, SJF?

The problem is that making a ridiculously inflated ambit claim demonstrates one's belief that the other negotiator is either a fool or a manipulative slimeball. Neither attitude is likely to bring out the best and most cooperative frame of mind in one's opposite number, and the result is usually time-wasting and acrimonious wrangling.