Sentence:  Seeing the British <WSD>establishment</WSD> struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic who still resists the idea that something drastic needs to happen for him to turn his life around. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The ruling class or authority group in a society; especially, an entrenched authority dedicated to preserving the status quo.