Lasswell: Politics: Who Gets What, When, How.

Chapter 1 Elite

The study of politics is the study of influence and influential. What makes the difference between elite and mass? Those who get the most are elite; the rest are mass. Available values: Deference pyramid Distribution of safety Wealth and income These values are representative for elites, but they are not exclusive. Other characteristics are also important in analyzing the influential: o Skill (either we speak of fighting skill, skill in political organization or bargaining, skill in handling the persons or the things, such as oration, polemical article) o Class: A class is a major social group of similar function, status and outlook. -aristocracies (concentration of landownership), plutocracies (arisen from commerce, industry and finance) o Personality -the agitator cultivates skills of mass appeal such as oratory and polemical journalism; comes during the fiery intensity of crisis; -the organizer is favored by the intercrisis periods; - forms of personality easily addicted to imperious violence; - true political personality acts for the glory of God, sanctity of the Home, the independence of the Nation, the emancipation of the Class; o Attitude No simple index can be profitably used to measure the influence and the influential. Different results can be obtained by using different values.