Power Elite Model

Read the following examples and using the table on p. 45 as well as other material in the text determine which system is MOST likely being described:

Plural-elitism is the pluralistic relationship between multiple elitist groups in the government. Although no group may have power over another, the groups themselves are elitist which defies the pluralistic standpoint. In addition, the elitist groups may not hold the interest of the public above all else. It is seen that the American government is neither an elitist dictatorship, nor a system where power is evenly distributed to the full extent among the people. An example of the plural-elitism relationship in the American government can be seen in the relationship between all the states. Each state has a governing power in the capital which provides order over the entirety of that state. State government is usually run by upper-class white people who do not always look to the peoples’ best interest. These state governments exist in each state which creates a pluralistic sharing of power throughout the United State. Individual state governments and their relationships to one another across the United States exemplify a plural-elitism standpoint.

The elite theory believes that a small group consisting of powerful people holds the most power, and that this power is independent of a state's democratic elections process. Elite theory argues either that democracy is in all unrealistic, or that democracy is not able to be achieved within capitalism. Within the elite theory not everyone is going to have the power when making decisions only the most powerful group. Overall meaning the elite theory can determine the trajectory of the society, and therefore the conditions which the members of that society must exist and function. When considering who’s interest does the elite theory compromise it would be hard to find an answer considering that all these groups work together to protect each other’s

With each having a hold or at least an influence on a specific type of policies. Majoritarianism in the sense that people have the control over who they elect as their representatives or president. Another example could be the ballots measures and referendums where the side with most votes wins. The pluralism side of the American democracy manifested itself lately when couples of same sex groups won their rights to get married, after years pushing for equal rights and advocating until getting their case approved by the supreme court, Last but not least, the elite theory part of the America democracy has been gaining ground for decades until its influence is mostly seen in economic policies, where big corporations and the rich are getting their voice well heard throughout the states legislatures. A study published in September of 2014, conducted by Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page, concluded that rich people had much bigger influence on policy decisions compared to the rest of the population. One of today’s example could be the tax code written in a way that allows the rich to use legal loopholes to pay little to nothing on their taxes. Another present example is the probable passage of the trans pacific partnership that would not benefit the common citizen, even with overwhelming disapproval from the

4.Capitalism - economic system where private individuals/corporations control the means of production and use them to make profits. Socialism is a system in which the government controls the economy and there is equal distribution of wealth.

The Elite theory best helps explain another form of government being the Judicial Branch. The Judicial Branch of government is the technical term for the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court is the highest level of court and is looked as the interpreters of the Constitution. Their soul job is to help clarify the Constitution when parts of the Constitution aren’t so clear. The Supreme Court is made up of nine judges selected personally by the President and are approved by Congress. None of this is done by any outside group, you could argue however that other people somehow influence the opinion of one person or the other on a certain decision but overall very clearly this form of government is ran by elites. Although this branch is run by Elites that does not necessarily mean it should be ran that way. The Supreme Court is suppose to be the interpreter of the Constitution and it is said by Marshall, in the case Mabury vs. Madison, that the constitution is the “"the fundamental and paramount law of the nation.” This leaving the question to: Why would you want someone deciding the law of this nation when they aren’t even elected by the people they are running? Since the people are not involved in this

The United States government is a democracy, a system of elected policymakers and an organized government so that policy is created in favor to the people 's wants and needs. Many like to categorize this system of government off of its characteristics and patterns. Three theories have been grouped into the three contemporary theories of democracy, where the United States fits into each in a different way. Pluralism reflects the use of groups advocating for a single cause, while Hyperpluralism is Pluralism that did not go correctly because groups are so strong that the government weakened itself. In addition to pluralism and hyperpluralism, the Elite and Class Theory introduces the idea that a government has an elite, wealthy ruler who runs the classes below it. These three contemporary theories of democracy are all applicable to the United States government, but pluralism is the most prominent out of these three theories because the United States is based off of political and advocate groups that press for changes in policies with a balance that prevents the scales from tipping onto the hyperpluralist side.

The Elite theory describes government in three different parts. The composed of corporate, political, and military leaders. C. Wright Mills would rank their importance in that order. Even if there importance is not all the same. For the Elite theory  to work correctly "The leading men in each of the three domains of power- the warlords, the corporation chieftains, the political directorate-tend to come together to form the elite of America." This explains that all three parts most work together or else the system just will not work. The development of anything that happens in the government must coincidence the interests among them.

This conjoined perspective includes the idea that there is an elite hierarchy at play, but groups, such as civil rights activists and environmentalists, also have a strong influence on what gets decided in public policy. Afterall, there really are hardly any machines out there that run strictly from one source; the body has the heart, but also needs the brain, the car has the engine, but couldn’t go anywhere without

I believe the pluralism theory best explains the American political process because, it speaks on the existence of classes, it emphasizes how the larger the group the bigger the influence it will have, and it is based on power being dispersed. These facts coincide with America’s current political process. To begin analyzing the pluralism theory we have to first take note that it states, most decision making happens in the framework of the government, but groups will use their resources to influence these choices.

Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page argue that policy change can be characterized into four theories such as Majoritarian Electoral Democracy, Economic Elite Domination, and two types of interest group pluralism: Majoritarian Pluralism and Biased Pluralism. Majoritarian Electoral Democracy claims that policies are “attributed to the collective will of the average citizen, who are empowered by democratic elections”, (Martin Gilens 2014). Majoritarian Electoral Democracy rests on the idea that government serves for the people and is governed by the people. Economic Elite Domination is significant, because it provides that “policy making is dominated by individuals who have substantial economic resources, i.e. high levels of income and/or wealth…” (Martin Gilens 2014). In the theory of Economic Elite Domination, the influential factors of policy are people with financial resources, or executive power. Economic Elites use their resources to shape, influence, or sway policy in his or her

Pluralism is the belief where minority groups maintain their power and is treated with equal power. It is seen as the theory of masses or equality among people. Pluralists look up to their role-model figures like Robert A. Dahl and Seymour Lipset. Robert Alan Dahl, widely known as the dean of American political scientists, was the one who established the pluralist theory in the mid 1900’s. His influence has been transmitted through his early books such as A Preface to Democratic Theory (1956), Who Governs? (1961), and Pluralist Democracy in the United States (1967).

Pluralist theory views politics and decision making as a competitive phenomenon where different groups and individuals have different views and that there is no single elite group that exercises influence (Davis & Go, 2009). The theory holds that power is relatively broadly distributed among different interest groups. These groups hold different views of the same aspect and compete with each other for

Round Two: What is Socialism? Socialism advocates the ownership and control of the means of production and industry by the community as a whole: the community is believed to be both more just and more efficient through central planning. In Marxist theory Socialism represents the stage following Capitalism in a state transforming to communism; for many, however, it is a goal in itself. Socialist

The first element of government that halts progress in America is the hyperpluralist theory, an extension of the pluralist theory. Edwards, Lineberry and Wattenberg state that “According to pluralist theory, because of open access to various institutions of government and public officials, organized groups can compete with one another for control over policy and no one group or set of groups dominates” (16). Basically, the pluralist theory states that for every group, there exists another group with opposing views or goals and they help serve each other through compromise. The hyperpluralist theory, on the other hand, argues that these different groups can counteract each other, diminishing any progress that the other group achieved. Without power over the others, a group cannot push its agenda without the opposing group pushing its own agenda to set that group back. A positive aspect of this theory is that it prevents one group from dominating; however, it discourages any changes from happening in government. Edwards, Lineberry, and Wattenberg