Analysis: Twilight Of The Elites

In Andrew Sullivan’s essay, “America Has Never Been So Ripe for Tyranny,” he expresses his beliefs that our government is drifting away from the original goals that were embedded for a structural government. Now a days, we are leading towards a government that is construct with individuals in power have wealth while the common people still dwell with less. Sullivan clarifies his argument by introducing the idea that our government is not a democracy, it is more closely similar to an oligarchy. Due to the fact that our democracy is economically unequal, it is coming close to being destroyed by our past and by the rich who can purchase political influences. As common people in society, our voice is simply being diminished due to the fact that

It can be said that money is power in the United States, and this is brought out in the essay, “Class in America---2012” written by Gregory Mantsios. He says that even though many Americans do not like to discuss class, “it can determine where people live, who their friends are, how well they are educated, and what they do for a living” (Mantsios). Many Americans do not speak about class type, and most find it unacceptable (Mantsios). Unfortunately, we can see that there are laws that are built to help and better the wealthy, while it cripples the rest of us. According to the Economic Policy Institute, “The richest twenty percent of Americans hold nearly ninety percent of the total household wealth in this county” (Institute) Gregory Mantsios without reserve describes the majority of people are at a disadvantage in their social class, while the upper class is compensated.

The land of freedom, the United States, is the Promised Land for all. Its citizen can be much as prosperous as they want. Nonetheless, a phenomenon has occurred gradually that has changed the economy, social levels, income, and wealth of all Americans. This is called inequality. Inequality has become a social problem since people has not raised their voice take advantage of voting, large corporations as CEOs who take instead of give.

Stadium subsidies are used to fiancé new stadiums. The government provides financial support to franchises that allows them to build their new stadiums. These subsidies are costing tax payers millions and do not seem to be in the best interest of the city the stadium is in. Those in favor of using tax payer dollars to build stadiums argue that the economic impact a professional franchise has on a city is great and a new stadium will help generate revenue. Research has shown this is not the case. Most stadiums cost the city and never produce enough revenue to make up for those costs (Bast, 1990).

There are many of us who are disillusioned by the American Political system, over the years we have become increasingly cynical, viewing politicians as extensions of Corporate America, the good OLE boys from the South and the Eastern Elite. For such politicians, politics itself was a life long destiny, full of ambition, finesse, and struggle for power, yet a severe lack

Is the United States of America run by the few chosen elites who dominate the policymaking? Or do you believe that you have a say over your countries lawmaking and policymaking decisions? Some might believe so and argue that we do and that we live in a democracy controlled country which allows all citizens to take part of all laws passed and have a say on what goes on in this country. Others, however, might argue that this country is run by the so-called few elites, who have control over all decisions and laws that get passed throughout the country. I, however, disagree with this claim. I believe that the people have control over policymaking in this republic democracy country, and the people’s voices are heard and not ignored when it comes

In America, we pride ourselves on being a democracy and having choices, when in fact, it is only a political illusion. In the Constitution of the United States (which we are all held accountable to abide by), it states that we are a republic with regard to the people’s desire to be a democracy, yet there is much evidence that leans towards America being an oligarchy. While a republic is a country which elects representatives to make government decisions on their behalf, an oligarchy is a system in which a small group of people controls the country. The debate of American being an oligarchy assumes that elites have power in many aspects of government, such as the Electoral College and the election process,

Reading G. William Domhoff’s Who Rules America?: The Triumph of the Corporate Rich was an intriguing and challenging experience for me. My limited knowledge base of the American political class system mostly stems from high school US History classes and listening to my mom’s stories of her experiences in the corporate world. Therefore, I am aware that due to my prior lack of knowledge on the topics presented in Domhoff’s book, I may have misjudged some of his finer points. Part of my struggles may be largely due to the fact that Domhoff’s intended audience for Who Rules America? is other experts in the field of understanding the sociology of the corporate elite and their resources of power. However, I believe that the book has given me a better, if not complete, understanding of the corporate elite and how they stay in power.

In That Used to Be Us, Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum begin by calling attention to the slow decline of the U.S., which is gradual enough so as to seem irrelevant. Friedman and Mandelbaum claim that this decline necessitates immediate attention and widespread action, and attribute it to four broad causes. These causes are the failure of leaders to observe, orient, decide, and act, (OODA), the muted responses to crucial issues which now require collective action and sacrifice, the paralyzation of our political system and erosion of values, and the cessation of investment in our Greatness Formula. The authors warn that we no longer have resources and time to waste on fixing crucial issues. Americans need to recognize that fundamental

The purpose of the textbook, Who Rules America? by G. William Domhoff, is to explain his theory of Class Domination. My essay emphasises the relation of social class to power, the existence of a Corporate community, the relationship of the Corporate community to the upper class, and various methods used by the Corporate community to dominate the U.S Political System. Furthermore, my essay will discuss the potential limits to corporate power in America.

The American Presidency is undoubtedly one of the most widely recognized popular icons throughout the world. Although to most foreigners or those who have never resided in the United States or know little of its history, the executive branch of government may seem to be as dull and unyielding as the rest of the American politics, for those few rare individuals who have taken the time to examine and closely scrutinize this office of the American political system and its recent history, quite the opposite will be said. Unlike Congressional or local elections where typically a number of individuals of the same ideological background must be elected in order for a particular issue to be

The ruling of the privileged has been around since the conception of organized society. “The state is nothing but an instrument of oppression of one class by another - no less so in a democratic republic than in a monarchy.” This is a quote from social scientist Fredrich Engels that shows the outlook of most people towards a privileged ruling; this system was deemed unfair to the majority, which led to monarchies, the main representative of minority ruling, losing their power. Although we believe the true power in modern democratic societies’ rests on the majority, it truly rests with the powerful elite.

Income inequality is a phenomenon that is undeniably real in our current world, and more specifically, the present United States. Canon describes how the gap between the elite and the poor has been consistently growing for many years and continues to widen (189). Whether the differences between the top and the bottom are a threat to current society is another story. Does income inequality undermine a democracy? Ray Williams argues that societies are strongest when they have a higher rate of equality while George Will challenges that inequality is the very basis of what make democratic processes. A. Barton Hinkle takes a Libertarian approach to the idea that inequality is threatening to democracy and how it can be fixed. Some threats that each article addressed were economic impacts, civility, and fairness. Overall, there is a definite need to evaluate whether the United States democracy is being threatened due to the continuous rise of the elites and the fall of the working class.

The power elite is able to exert power over society. The power elite’s control over politics demonstrates how inequality is functional. This validates the class-domination theory of power, which is distributed based on economic power. By controlling economic resources, the power elites political influence in government shapes law and those involved in government to the power elites benefit. In today’s American society these laws have impacted both the corporate community and the elite. Furthermore, the author’s portrayal of the elite displayed how the elite have control concerning choices in government policies, elections, and laws.

The society in which Americans live in today, is in certain aspects far more complex than it ever was for our ancestors. This new complexity is seen on both a micro and macro level and everything that falls in between. Perhaps American society is inherently more complex due to the fact that most if not every societal problem that is encountered, tends to gear towards a political nature in the method of solving. It seems that Americans no longer abide by the do it yourself mentality, and as times goes by we as a people look to the government leaders to solve our problems when they are beyond our capabilities, not realizing that in doing so we also bestow the power upon them to make decisions for society as a whole. When you have an issue