The social class metaphor is stretched pretty thin, but it can be interested to follow such threads and see where they lead. I suppose it's endlessly interpretable, but here's my take on bringing it down to earth.

- Different "classes" have different interests. (1)Miners. (2) Big, rich coin owners. (3) Rule makers and influencers. Group 2 & 3 overlap and might collaborate to screw miners.

- The author is thinks fundamentals/promises like "code is law" and such will gradually crack, because absolute adherence will be broken.

- Rule making is corruptible.

"sounds just like the corrupt fiat money system we’re trying to escape"

Sounds to me like you have arrived at "governance." The hope a lot of people had/have for crypto is that it replaces people, institutions and rules with explicit code. Coins would be governed by code instead of people, which works until it doesn't work.

Since this is already framed in a historical materialism sense... Imagine a society where all laws come from God, are engraved in stone and adjudicated with trials by duel, ordeal or some other way of leaving things in His mighty hands. This works until it doesn't. A currency crisis leaves 90% of people in debt slavery, and the army can't find enough recruits. A UFC champion is abusing trial by combat to get away with all crime and rob everyone. Stuff no one could have foreseen. One of the rules isn't perfect.

IRL, such societies will go one of two ways: (1) They have systemic instability, where the stone tablets can be broken and new rules adopted. Or, (2) they fudge. They have a complete and perfect constitution, and a supreme court that interprets it liberally like the US. Maybe they pretend to have a constitution even though one has never been written, like the UK. It turns out we can make that guy fight a bear instead of some poor prisoner.

There's a theoretical option 3: adhere. Play out the consequences whatever that requires. Maybe god wants everyone in debt slavery, and that ufc champion running around robbing old ladies.

Everything crypto seems to drive to the extremes. An obsession with perfect. There is no perfect.

Say smart contracts work great for collectible sneakers. Yes, it collapses when a judge rules to give a sneaker collection back to a guy that got robbed. Does that really make it worthless? Is an institution responsible for cancelling and issuing sneaker coin, on court order, really such a blasphemy?