Hey AtRisk, that's gutsy. But you miss a critical point in the role of management. As you rightly point out, the systemic theme in all of this is a fear based organizational culture. Hence those in the role of management (middle or otherwise) will gravitate to those positions in an attempt to distance themselves from 'the inevitable', as you put it. But the 'leader' and the 'led' are two components of an inclusive system.
There are many good examples in organizational literature where outgoing corporate leaders successfully transfer their own fears onto the 'general' population. When they are replaced by 'tyrant' leaders, that collective fear is 'successfully' projected, along with their own fears and insecurities, onto those they lead, to everyone's detriment. And it is reflective of an unhealthy organizational culture that is often characterized by morale problems and toxic work environments.
I take issue with your notion of A-scalers as the source of the problem though. The fears that you mention are a very real part of organizational dynamics, however you misidentify the source. The bottle neck is still at the top of a bottle.
I suggest the following book if you're interested in organizational dynamics: "Work Abuse : How to Recognize and Survive It, by Chauncey Hare, Judith Wyatt; available at Amazon.
-cheers.
[This message has been edited by k_d_s (edited 17 September 2000).]