POWER ELITE IN

MODERN SOCIETIES

Ioffe Hannah
M ik ha le v a Val er i i a
 THE POWER ELITE

THESE "TOP POSITIONS " E N C O M PA S S E D T H E P O S T S W I T H

THE AUTHORITY TO RUN PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES OF
MAJOR POLITICAL , ECONOMIC , LEGAL , E D U C AT I O N A L ,
C U LT U R A L , SCIENTIFIC , AND CIVIC INSTITUTIONS .
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
POWER ELITE
1) the highest political leaders
including the president and a
handful of key cabinet
members and close advisers;
(2) major corporate owners and
directors; and (3) high-ranking
military o cers.

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 Decisions made in
the boardrooms of
large corporations
and banks a ect the
rates of in ation and
TOP employment.
COMMAND
POSTS
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SHARED ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS.

ACCORDING TO MILLS AND

OTHERS, HOWEVER, THESE

!!!
D I F F E R E N C E S A R E VA S T LY
OVERSHADOWED BY AGREEMENT
ON A WORLD VIEW .
DISTRIBUTION OF POLITICAL
POWER

THE MIDDLE LEVELS OF

GOVERNMENT (THE CONGRESS,
T H E C O U RT S , T H E S TAT E S )
W O R RY M A I N LY A B O U T H O W
BEST TO IMPLEMENT THEM .
THE MIDDLE LEVEL OF POLITICS.

WHERE D O E S T H I S P U T T H E W O R K A D AY P O L I T I C I A N S , THE
I N H A B I TA N T S O F T H E M I D D L E L E V E L O F P O L I T I C S ?
S A D LY , THE ELITE SCHOOL REPORTS , THEIR INFLUENCE
H A S L A R G E LY D I S S I PAT E D O V E R T H E Y E A R S , L E AV I N G
T H E M W I T H O N LY T H E O U T E R L I M B S A N D T W I G S T O
MANAGE .
 THE PUBLIC.

W H AT D I S T U R B S P O W E R E L I T E
THEORISTS MOST, HOWEVER, IS
THE DEMISE OF THE PUBLIC AS
AN INDEPENDENT FORCE IN
CIVIC AFFAIRS .
T HE POWER ELITE THEORY , IN SHORT , CLAIMS THAT
A SINGLE ELITE , NOT A MULTIPLICITY OF COMPETING
GROUPS , DECIDES THE LIFE - AND - DEATH ISSUES FOR
THE NATION AS A WHOLE , LEAVING RELATIVELY
MINOR MATTERS FOR THE MIDDLE LEVEL AND
ALMOST NOTHING FOR THE COMMON PERSON .

THANK YOU FOR YOUR

ATTENTION!