The Problem Of Elite Regulation There is a long standing problem in political theory that can be best summed by the Latin phrase “Quis custodiet ipsos custodies?” which roughly translates to “Who will guard the guards themselves?” (Juvenal 347-8). This refers to the idea of any government-like body needing a certain set of rules that dictate how the body can function, thus keeping its members’ supremacy in control. Hence, the problem of elite regulation, in its bare form, is that while a subset of authoritative figures is essential for society to function, it is their very authority that can harm the society that they govern, and thus they need to be delimited in ways that have positive, rather than negative, effects on said society. First, …show more content…
Due to their elevated position in the social order, they seldom have to pay for any wrong they cause or do. This insurance of sorts that they possess against the consequences of their actions, not only enables, but motivates them to think short term, and to put their own vested interests first. For example, consider politicians who knowingly push their countries deeper into debt for short-term gains. For these politicians, there are no consequences they face for making that decision, but it is eventually society that suffers (Magagna 10/26). One can argue that eventually, even elites would have to face the results of their bad decisions, but one often forgets that elites are shielded by their wealth or power even then, and thus suffer nominally as compared to the rest of the society. Their status, thus, grants them the power to be less accountable, which in turn allows them to make decisions that are quite detrimental for the public. These decisions might not be intentional, but the complete insurance that they possess against personal harm allows for more reckless action.
From a Confucian and East Asian perspective, the fault with any society is solely attributed to the elite, never to the general public. The belief is that the elite can engage in negative opportunism because of their status and power. They can take advantage of opportunities to exploit their people (Magagna 10/26). To understand the effects of such negative opportunists, one must consider an exemplary hierarchy as imagined by
The realtion of social class to power, is a belief about equality of opportunity that seems to be ignore by former upper social mobility. According to Domhoff's statement about the relation of social class to power, "No group or class had power in America, but only influence". In other words, the upper class are more noticeable and accesible because they share a commmon viewpoint on issues on important new foreign and domestic policies. This leads to the corporate rich who developed to institute the policies they favor like, the Collective power that pursue common goals in community or nation and Distributive power that is the ability of a group or social class within a community or nation to be successful in conflict on issues of concern to it. Social class is mainly based on income, occupation, and education. For example,the educational system of the upper class is different from the majority of public schools the population attend to, because the upper class "receives a distinctive education to prepare them for future leaders of America" (pg 46). This shows how the upper class have more advantage over any other class because they have more opportunities to study in these schools to become part of governmental leaders. Members of the upper class have power based on their wealth.
This select group rules at the expense of common people. Increasing wealth is commonly the main consideration.
Elitism is a theory that describes society being “divided into the few who have power, called elites, and the many who do not, called masses” (Schubert 4). It is described as a few elites
Both Imperial Rome and China placed a great divide between two groups – the wealthy and the poor. In Rome the poor mans vote did not count as much as the wealthy mans vote did.10 The merchant class or lower class in China was viewed with suspicion and blamed for economic ills.11 They were given harsh punishments under the Legalist method – which saw humans as inherently evil by nature and in need of strict leadership.12 In Rome some citizens fought against this class system, but citizens also had greater chance for social mobility since the expansion of Rome brought in the need for new jobs related to increasing trade routes.13 In China some of the citizens adopted Buddhism, which challenged the social structure and went completely against the dominant Confucian
Proper Order in Confucianism and as taught primarily by Mencius, the Chinese philosopher, is the conceptual theory that instructs how people can reach their highest potential of moral and material well being embodied in Mencius' conception of human nature. The theory of proper order is the primary and philosophical means to that end. Although proper order may seem in many ways philosophically abstract, Mencius' teachings of proper order in history have had lasting and tangible effects on modern East Asian politics and its relationship between the state and society, and even on a narrower level of the individual and community. In fact, the theory of proper order starts first at the individual level and from there flourishes to create a positive rippling effect throughout all of society. This profound theory and its ideals is credited with developing a social society in East Asia which acknowledges the great potential of each of its citizens, but still aspires to consider the effects of individual actions on the common good and not to just ignore the interests of society as a whole. This has helped guide East Asia through its long and colorful history and has helped to shape it into the political and economic powerhouse that it is today. But where exactly did such a significant theory which has helped to define an entire society come from? What exactly is proper order, how can we create it, and why is it needed to achieve Mencius' human nature? Most of these questions can be answered in explaining the fundamental virtue that all humans have according to Mencius, our humaneness defined in human nature.
Managerialism focuses on organizations as the basis, or unit of analysis of society, to which all other aspects of society are subordinate to. These organizations use their resources in an attempt to dominate each other and society. Managerialism tells us that power is concentrated among a group of elites who control organizations, and use them as an instrument to gain more power and expand their realm of control. Organizational power is increasingly the most important force that explains the direction of change in both state and society (Alford and Friedland, p.174). Thus, elites are becoming the most important factor that determines our society, and do not serve the full interests of society, but rather attempt to manipulate the masses to better serve itself.
Conflict resolution in Chinese societies is mainly based on Confucianism. The overriding principle of society is that the superior in a group is to be respected. When a conflict arises, Chinese will consider the nature of their relationship. Within a family structure, the superior should be obeyed, so a subordinating family member may have to be willing to sacrifice their own comfort or desire in order to maintain peace (Hwang, 1998). Sometimes a subordinating family member will simply change or forsake their original goal. In Chinese culture it is important for society to believe all is well in a family even if it is not (Hwang, 1998).
Confucianism and Daoism are two influential schools of thoughts that have existed in ancient China around the 6th century BCE. The former, led by the politician and philosopher Confucius, proposed that humans live in society according to a set of predefined rules and that they transform society through political action. Whereas the latter, led by the philosopher Lao-Tzu, promoted the idea of inaction; people should go with the flow instead of taking action to control their lives and dominate their surroundings. Although, at first glance Daoism and Confucianism seem to be two opposing philosophies, a more in depth analysis of two of their key ideas –filial piety and education—reveals that they do share some similarities.
Human nature is greedy and self-interested. At least that is what Machiavelli might have said. The television show Gossip Girl, plays on this imperfection of man, through revealing the scandals of New York City’s royalty. “Gossip Girl here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite” (“Pilot” 1.1). Each character is solely self-interested in their actions and the character of Gossip Girl feeds on all of their drama. The characters rarely worry about whom they must manipulate in order to get their way, which ultimately shows an overwhelming amount of immoral behavior. Making others see the flaws of Manhattan’s elite through this immoral behavior evokes feelings of vanity. This raises up commoners by making them feel that they have a higher level of integrity than this group of elite. There is always scandal that the elite partake in that would never even apply to the commoners, making the elite’s downfall even heavier: “One thing about being on the top of the world, it gives you a long, long way to fall” (“In The Realm of the Basses” 2.14). On the other hand, competition is created in the elite world,...
The author demonstrates how one can lose sight in life and become corrupt through focusing only on wealth, supremacy and materialistic possessions
Throughout history, it can be argued that at the core of the majority of successful societies has stood an effective allocation of leadership. Accordingly, in their respective works “The Tao-te Ching” and “The Prince”, Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli have sought to reach a more complete understanding of this relationship. The theme of political leaders and their intricate relationship with society indeed manifests itself within both texts, however, both Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli approach this issue from almost entirely opposite positions. Lao-Tzu appears to focus the majority of his attention on letting problems or situations take their course and allowing good to prevail. On the contrary, Machiavelli advocates the necessity for a successful leader, or prince, to take control of his endeavors, and the skills or qualities necessary to maintain power, at any cost. Since these thinkers both make an inquiry to what is essentially the same dilemma of effective leadership, it becomes almost a natural progression to juxtapose the two in an effort to better understand what qualities a prosperous leader must possess. In this sense, when we utilize the rhetorical strategy of compare/contrast as a vehicle to transport us to a more enlightened interpretation of Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli’s conclusions, it becomes apparent that Machiavelli’s effort is much more successful as his practicality serves its purpose much more effectively.
Confucian culture has persistence, so it does not disappear with the annihilation of the old system. Confucian culture, formed under two thousand years of feudal autocratic rule, not only exists for a long time, but also still has important influence on Chinese contemporary political life and political culture with its strong vitality. The theme of moderation is to educate people consciously to self-improve, self supervise, and self educate, and train themselves have the ideal personality. Fundamentally, the Confucian thinks that the root of governing revolution lies in the will of people, therefore, it should govern from the will of people if it wants to achieve the social governance, which has its profound meaning (Chan, Cho, 2014). The emergence of a lot of social problems, in the final analysis, is due to the lack of governance...
Analects, a compilation of Confucius’ teachings, is greatly recognized as a work of utmost importance and influence in the Chinese culture. The book conveys Confucius’ beliefs on a wide variety of topics, including propriety, education, family relations, and government in efforts to enhance social order.
C. Wright Mills, in this selection, explains to us how there are a certain group of people who make the important decisions in our country, the “power elite.” Mills splits this group into the 3 top leaders: the corporate elite, the military elite, and the small political elite. These 3 different departments work together as a whole to make decisions regarding the country.
According to Birch (2002) it was during the 6th century B.C.E that the two most influential leaders namely, Confucius and Lao-Tzu, lived and practiced their philosophies of Confucianism and Taoism respectively while simultaneously attracting countless of followers. Confucianism is a set of laws which was established by Confucius as he was primarily concerned with social responsibilities and social hierarchy. Confucianism is a leadership ethic which views hierarchy as the natural order. Therefore, if relationships and society are to be successful it is crucial for leaders to be good people. Senior leaders are powerful and power must be exercised in the best interest of themselves and those for whom they are responsible. Relationships and organisation will not be mutually advantageous and good results are much less likely occur if social ...