When I first read the “The Power Elite” by C. Wright Mills, I saw the title and immediately approached it cautiously. I am a born skeptic, and to me the title conjured images of hippies passing around reefer talking about like, the Illuminati man. However as I read Article 56, chapter 13 of Understanding Society: An Introductory Reader, I was struck by rationally Mills approaches a complex and controversial subject. Particularly effective is his systematic approach of breaking his thesis down into observable facts and logical ideas. “The Power Elite” begins by defining who or what a power elite is. Mills then examines the crucial areas they dominate as well as the system that exists to support and propagate their influence. He ends by examining the situations that led to the creation of the power elite, how institutions contribute to their formation, and the historical context of the ever increasing concentration of power that has made this status possible.
As I read this article many passages and ideas seemed to jump out at me. The first is when Mills seeks to define who the power elite are and how they perceive themselves. Mills defines the power elite rather broadly, “They rule the big corporations, they run the machinery of the state...they direct the military establishment” (Anderson et al. Page 465). However, it is what Mills says next that struck me as particularly poignant. He explains that the power elite do not actually see themselves as particularly powerful. Instead he says that they, “are uncertain about their roles” and that “No matter how great their actual power, they tend to be less acutely aware of it than to the resistances of others to its use” ( Anderson et al. Page 465). I find it humorous and some...
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...posure of high level politicians, which is still incredibly disproportionate to the amount of influence they have, most of the power elite are unknown outside of the circles of their colleagues and those in the know within their respective fields. In essence, the power elite have had such an influence on pop culture, and their celebrity distractions are so effective, that the general population no longer cares about the huge decisions and possible ramifications that are made for them on a daily basis. One is often left to wonder how much more Fahrenheit 451-ish our society can get.
References:
Andersen, Margaret et al, comp.Understanding Society: An Introductory Reader. 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2011. 464-468. Print.
Kendall, Diana. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2010. 166-179. Print.
Part 1. 2009. The 'Secondary' of the Print. The. Landstreet, Peter. A. The “Power and Power Relations Lecture”.
10). Mills identified three major institutions in modern society. These dominating hierarchies consisted of military institutions, government institutions, and corporations. Mills discussed how the decision-making power of military, government, and corporate sectors has centralized, enlarged, and become incredibly powerful. Additionally, other sectors of society have become increasingly subjugated to the overarching power of these major social institutions, which has been achieved through the centralization and enlargement of military, government, and corporate institutions. Now, the leaders of these three major areas form a small, unified group that Mills referred to as the power elite. Interestingly enough, their source of elite power is not attributed to any individual factors, according to Mills. In contrast, he believed that their source of elite power stemmed from the high levels of legitimate authority that they, in fact, possessed. Therefore, their source of elite power was not attributed to individual factors such as charisma. Specifically, Mills believed that the power elite achieved an unparalleled degree of power and influence that was ascribed through the social organizations in which they occupied key leadership positions. Mills stressed that it was crucial to analyze the three major institutions of corporations, government, and military to understand how power, influence, and decision-making processes have narrowed, centralized, and enlarged. The three major institutions identified by Mills have provided the leaders of these institutions with a resource for power that Elwell (2006) described as being “never before equaled in human history” (p.
In 1956, C. Wright Mills developed a theory that “the United States no longer has separate economic, political, and military leaders but instead the most prominent people in each region combine to form a united elite.” Most people saw the two main levels of power in the special interest groups and the public, but Mills displayed three levels: the power elite then the special interest groups then the public. It is the higher levels that make the decisions regarding war, national policy, and domestic policy. Members of the power elite tend to be interested in similar things and also come from similar backgrounds. An example of this would be that most members are either educated at special schools, military academics, or Ivy League schools and also share common faiths in the Episcopalian or Presbyterian churches. Members of the power elite have known other members of the group for a long time, share the same groups of friends, and also intermarry (Sociology 407). They do all of this in order to make it easier for each other to agree on the same decisions and so their close friends and relatives can belong to the power elite in the future as well.
The elite theory is the belief that a select, powerful few make all of the decisions in America. The Americans trust in these elite to make the decisions for them. “It is just that the people are of necessity confused and must, like trusting children, place all the new world of foreign policy and strategy and executive action in the hands of experts” (C. Wright Mills, 78). To prove his elite theory Mills makes the claim that Americans are rather uneducated in the fields of government. We the people require someone above us to run things smoothly while also keeping in mind the public wants and the greater good. Someone that holds more knowledge will make better decisions for America.
1) The chapter 9, The Military Ascendancy, Mills discusses the increased presence of military personnel in high political positions. However, is this not what our country was founded on? Don’t we have a history of installing military personnel in almost all positions within our government? Only 12 of America’s 43 presidents have not served in the military, even congress has a larger percentage of veterans, compared to our population. Our history as a nation is built on military diplomacy, not professional diplomats. Have we not always used the “buddy-system” to leverage careers in politics? Why is this so surprising to Mills?
For decades there have been many questions that sociologists generally ask themselves when examining a social phenomenon. One well known sociologists is C. Wright Mills. Mills came up with the concept of sociological imagination. It is used to describe the ability of individuals to think away from routines that they are used to in everyday life and look at them from an entirely new perspective. Using this concept, mills applied it to asking and answering imaginative thoughts of sociological questions. Mills came up with three questions that many thinkers have consistently asked in their investigations of humanity and society. The three questions are what is the structure of this particular society as a whole? , where does this society stand
...top positions in the governmental and business hierarchy from communal principles and beliefs. Majority come from the upper third of the salary and professional pyramids, their upbringings were from the same upper class, some attended the same preparatory school and Ivy League universities. Also, they belong to the same organizations. The power elite have the power to control programs and actions of important governmental, financial, legal, educational, national, scientific, and public institutions. The ones in power influence half of the nation’s manufacturing, infrastructures, transportation, banking possessions, and two thirds of all insurance possessions. The occupants take essential actions that could affect everyone’s’ life in American society. Rulings made in meetings of significant corporations and banks can influence the rates of inflation and unemployment.
Domhoff, G. W. (1990). The power elite and the state: How policy Is made in America. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.
In the video Eric breaks it down for viewers for us to see how power is perceived and structured. At the beginning of the film Liu illustrates how power resides in the people. He goes on to say that those who really have power then turn evil because people may perceive it distinctively. Democracies and dictatorships show the contrast in how power is perceived and understood contrarily based on how it is defined in their civic life. His definition of power is essential in this video because it identifies the importance that it has on people and their abilities compared to others. I identified our class concept during this part of the video because people may have different perceptions of power and interpret it in a different manner. When organizing what we perceive we think about the stereotypes that are given to those with power, and those without it. We make generalizations upon these stereotypes. We also create personal constructs upon people we encounter who have more power because of the judgments that are constructed. Interacting distinctively with those of lesser, or higher power, is a norm for people who interpret the definition of
The premise of Mills’ theory revolves around a group at the top of the hierarchy called the power elite. This is a group that consists of military officials, top government representatives, and the top corporate executives. Underneath this authoritative group is a middle class, or a middle level of power. These are the people that work in Congress and other middle level interest groups. Below them are the masses, a group that possesses little to no power in society and are essentially manipulated by those above them. The power elite makes all of the important public decisions, especially those dealing with foreign policies. The power elite is united not only because of their communal desire for wealth and dominance, but also their mutual religious beliefs, education, and other social interests amongst their institutions. If we accept this theory of a small, all-powerful force of government, than democracy in society would either be very weak or nonexistent.
... beacon of hope for liberals and what Mills believes is the lower level of power is the public or the masses. The public is defined as those who have no defined or well structured interests. Mills is of the opinion that their political influence is also decreasing and that they are being guided by the media and other forms of mass communication which is controlled by the ruling elite.
Macionis, John J.. Society: the basics. 12th ed., Annotated instructor's ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2013. Print.
In Considerations on Representative Government, Mill denounces the idea that a despotic monarchy headed by a good despot is the best form of government. Mill goes on to share the reason behind this idea. The reason lies in the supposition that a distinguished individual with absolute power will ensure that all the duties of government is performed intelligently and virtuously. Mill does not disagree with this belief but he finds the need to address it. He states that an “all-seeing” monarch rather than a “good monarch” is needed. The despot would need to be informed correctly and in detail at all time, and be able to oversee every division of administration with effective attention and care in the twenty-four hours per day he has. If not, the
Schaefer, R.T. (2009). Sociology: a brief introduction, 8th edition. New York, New York, USA: McGraw-Hill.
(1997) Sociology: Introductory Readings, Revised ed. Cambridge and Malden: Polity Press. Hebding, D.E. and Leonard, G. (1996) Introduction to sociology: A text with readings, 5th ed. McGraw Hill Inc. (worldwide).