Power Elite By Wright Mills And Robert Alan

Wright Mills and Robert Alan provide different perspectives on the concept of power and its distribution in American society. In the book “Power Elite,” Mills suggests that, in America, those who occupy high positions in government and the military hold the majority of the power to make decisions that impact the general population. He further asserts that American democracy is an illusion, where voters believe that when they elect a representative into state office, they will have a say on how the office is run and the policies that will be placed into effect. However, when these elected officials assume power, their decisions are often largely influenced by large corporations as well as top politicians and military officers. Thus, those who constitute the upper class, exert more influence in
On the contrary, it is often political advisors and spokespersons who influence the thought processes and subsequent decisions made by the elected official. Therefore, the power elitist theory describes the U.S. as a country that is governed by a small group of interconnected persons who occupy key positions in government. Conversely, in “Who Governs?” and “A Preface to Democratic Theory,” Robert Dahl rebuts the arguments presented by the power elitist theory. In a study based on this theory, Dahl argues that whereas there was an unequal distribution of power in New Haven, authority and influence was shared among different groups that were competing against each other. In addition, he coined the term polyarchy in reference to American politics as well as other systems that are characterized as open and inclusive. By developing this concept, Dahl was able to establish the distinction between the desired systems of democracy and draw correlations to that which is considered as the