Please read through these elements of the Power Elite by C. Wright Mills on the chart below. If
these are true, what does that mean about society, the messages we get from the media
(controlled by the rich), and the society that media helps create? How does this reality compare
to our ideas and understanding of “the American Dream” that we value?
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Outline on Power Elite Theory
by C. Wright Mills
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Power elite theory has been formulated by C. Wright Mills & William Domhoff
Power elite theory is similar to pluralist theory, except that while pluralists hold that
"the balance of interests" is intact, the power elite theorists hold that the balance of
interests have failed
The power elite:
- are a small, very wealthy group
- foster a society where office holders have only the appearance of power; i.e.,
they are puppets
- exercise real power & decision making behind the scenes
- influence political leaders by foundations & public policy institutes which they
fund
- struggle among themselves in what are often similar to "palace intrigues"
- in terms of class, are made up of the active, influential, powerful, members of the
upper class & the corp. mgrs.
Power is gained:
- almost exclusively via corporate wealth
- via interlocking directorates, which are overlapping positions of power on
corporate boards
- though the concentration of wealth via state capitalism
- via overlapping positions of power in govt, including the executive branch, the
civil service, and the military
- by controlling the rules and regulations of state capitalism
- by keeping other classes pluralistic, i.e. fragmented
The power elite are largely the result of "cultural lag" and are fundamentally anti
democratic and anti equalitarian
The group dynamics of the power elite demonstrates domination by a small
leadership group
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The control exercised by a small elite is not so much the characteristic of
organization, but rather the result of a great concentration of wealth, which leads
to a concentration of power
Control of corporations by the ruling elite rests on the ownership of large blocks
of stock
P-E theory notes that the richest 1% of the US population owns over 50% of the
stock (Gilbert & Kahl, 1982)
P-E theory notes that the richest 1% also owns over 28% of total wealth (Census,
1993e)
The ruling elite is a virtually closed social group w/ tremendous power
For Domhoff & P-E theory, the ruling elite attend exclusive preparatory schools,
colleges, clubs & resorts, & intermarry largely w/ other members of the ruling class
(Domhoff, 1983)
For Braun & P-E theory, While there are exceptional self-made tycoons whose
lives parallel the famous rags to riches novels by Horatio Alger, in reality, the heads
of the largest corporations are almost exclusively born into their class position
(Braun, 1991, 1997)
https://people.uvawise.edu/pww8y/Reviews/IS/ISRev/RevIS06Strat.html#Outline on Power-Elite Theory