The Power Elite

Power elites are composed of actors in different social fields, based on the (possibly shared ) access to means of power ( = negative social sanctions) to enforce decisions in favor of their interests, which have national or international implications.

A contrast to the term " power elite " is the " power elite"; Power elites assets due to special ( technical or functional ) benefits decisions to enforce.

Theory of power elites

The term is primarily due to Charles Wright Mills study The Power Elite (1956 ) in which he examined the elites in the United States. According to Mills, the power elite emerged in the United States only by concentration processes in the wake of the New Deal. The power elite set is composed of a power triangle ( The Triangle of Power ) from the elite circles of politics, the military and the economy. Mills observed that the influential people of these fields usually had attended an elite university, members of the same exclusive clubs were, and that they often marry within their narrow circle.

While Mills emanated only from a power triangle, later social scientists have stressed the importance of other sectors, who won in the last few years. Besides the direct influence on the policy has been studied increasingly as power elites tried by influencing the public a " cultural hegemony " ( Gramsci ) to produce. According to G. William Domhoff policy guidelines are ("policy formation process" ) is determined by a system of reality production, which had been produced through the collaboration of economically dependent universities, think tanks and foundations in the United States. Pierre Bourdieu also taught with his publications the view of the importance of social areas such as science and media for the composition of today's power elites. According to Rainer Geissler power elites made ​​up of nine sectoral elites together who are key decision makers in the following sectors: political, administrative, judicial, economic, trade unions, mass media, culture, science and military. With the Power Structure Research is an attempt to analyze the interdependence of the power elites.

Criticism of the term " power elite "

The liberal sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf criticized the early 1960s, Mills approach as a shift from the class of the elite, yes to the conspirators theory. Even Marxists criticized Mills ' approach, such as his friend Ralph Miliband, in 1969 the concept of the power elite of the " ruling class " faced in The State in Capitalist Society.