Monday, December 15, 2014

The Accurate Elitist Theory

I completely agree with Mill's Elitist theory and how the government is controlled by the certain top population and positions. As much as some people may wish to deny it, the government is greatly controlled and influenced the The Big Three: the rulers of big corporations, the runners of state machinery, and the military leaders. As Mills said, these people are the ones who are in the positions that allow them to have control in the government. In a way, what Alyse and Kayla all said is true, there are many interest groups and famous figures that can have an influence on policy-making within the government. However, in no way is their power close to the impact of the big three. There is even other institutions that Mills mentions that Susan mentioned and that I found very interesting and reasonable, "Religious, educational, and family institutions are not autonomous centers of national power...Families and churches and schools adapt to modern life; governments and armies and corporations shape it" (Mills 73). The reason this was interesting to me is because if one thinks about it, the things he says after this one statement are surprisingly accurate. For example, the excerpt talks about how a man is brought up in a certain family, school, or religion, but even after these institutions have an impact on the man's life, the state he lives in, the job he lives off of, and the army that disciplines him will still affect him the most because they set the guidelines in rules through their power in the government. Another interesting point was how people can feel the impact of this theory. The people live through times where big decisions are made during crisis's within the nation and even everyday policy decisions. However, they see these decisions being made, but know that the people are not the ones making the decisions. This is because the elite of power is taking care of that. One perfect example provided was how the bomb on Japan was dropped and though everyone knew about it, the people were never asked their opinion. This is tricky because the people are the ones that are supposed to hold the most power, not ht elite. All in all, these are just a few good points made to prove the elitist theory.


  1. I'm sorry Julia, but I must disagree with you here. Saying that our government is run by some very few elite people is the equivalent of saying that we are run by a tyranny by the minority. If that is the case then what would happen in cases like the case in our homework with the National Campaign for Jobs and Income support. Those people that supported that campaign were not elitists that were mentioned. Since they were successful, that eliminates this idea of "The Big Three" because these people were ordinary citizens, not the rulers of big corporations, not the runners of state machinery, and not the military leaders. Granted, those people still have power in our Democracy, but they can not overrule the demands of the people. Now since this is true, this eliminates this idea that the elites have control over our government. Also, the idea that churches and family institutions adapt to life and the government shapes it is a false idea. The Bible does not really change, and it is very hard for people to change their opinion about everyday life. If the government forces a change in those opinions, then that suggests that we are in a tyranny. The more accurate description of power in a Democracy is the hyper-pluralist theory. The people have made a lot of groups. Since we tell our representatives how we want our government to work, that means the people have power. Granted, there are people like Bill Gates that have more influence than most people, in the end, the people have the most power in our democracy. After all, the people elect their representatives. Now normally, when there are conflicting ideas, there is a compromise. However, interest groups have now become so powerful that there is a lot of gridlock in the government. This result in contradictory policies in our government also. Not only that, but there are a lot of interest groups, and unions, according to the scavenger hunt that donated to campaigns to help. Since these unions and interest groups help, it shows that the government is jot run just by the elite, but also the people. Therefore, let us remember how since the people run the government, the elitist theory can not be correct. Last, let's remember that, according to Alexis de Tocqueville, "no countries need associations more -- to protect either despotism of parties or the arbitrary rule of a prince -- than those in a democratic social state.

  2. Your argument is very impressive Gilbert and I respect that. Because of everything you've said I am somewhat convinced that the hyperpluralism theory is a good theory to use in order to explain our reality. However, I still believe that that one theory is not the only one at play. It is true there are several associations and interest groups existing in our country, as I said in my post, but I still must say that the Big Three do have a say. Just as you said, Bill Gates and his influence on education, plus military units and their influence on how much of the government's money is spent on military funding. After our homework and your comment I can see that the minority groups can have a big enough role where our country will not end in tyranny, but I do still think the Big Three are a great part of the government.

