Power elite theory

Hywell Williams

he claims that there are power elites in the UK. -the political elite -the professional elite: this refers not to just the traditional professions such as lawyers and doctors, but also to what Williams calls the new professionals and these are essentially management consultants whose job is to regulate, administer and monitor the work of other professionals. -The financial/business elite- William regards them as the most powerful part of the British establishment and particularly those people working in London in the banking and financial industry and he suggests that the political and professional elites often have to defer to these financial elites.

Criticisms of power elite theory

-overemphasises the cohesiveness of elite groups- they are often in competition with one another rather than acting as a unified group. -Analysis isn't backed up by systematic studies of decision making.

Interconnected

The elites are highly interconnected. White house, the pentagon and Wall Street, even though we're talking about 3 different types of elite, Mills argue that these elites are so interconnected within American society that essentially they come together to form a cohesive unified group that act together to defend their own self interest. For example, they're individuals who often share a similar social background, privileged, gone to private schools, often unified by ties of friendship and they tend to have a similar world view.

Revolving door

There's also evidence for a revolving door in the British political system. Tony Blair does a variety of jobs including acting as a consultant to the world's biggest investment bank Morgan Stanley. And the political influence of the big investment banks and of the financial services industry is so colossal that according to Nicholas Shaxson book 'Treasure Island' the British state and the British political system have essentially been captured by the financial services industry.

Power elite rule

power elite theory was developed by sociologist C. Wright Mills, in his book he was very critical of American democracy and he argued that in reality there was a class of military, business and political leaders driven by mutual interest that constituted the power elite. When Mills published his book in 1956 it made him very unpopular because most Americans didn't see democracy as Mills saw it.

Power in the USA

there's a pyramid to represent the distribution of power in America according to Mills. At the top you have the most powerful group, made up of 3 groups (corporate, political and military elites) Underneath the power elite you have the middle level, which compromises members of the US congress, other legislators so local governments, and then you have local opinion leader of pressure groups. At the bottom you have masses of the people who compared to the power elite they are relatively powerless, unorganised, exploited and mostly uninterested in politics which makes it easier for elites to control them.