In a Democracy

Majoritarian politics  leaders are forced to follow the preferences of citizens very closely.  The people have such intense feelings about a political issue that leaders feel obligated to follow the popular will.  On the vast majority of issues, however, political elites determine the outcome.

Elites  An elite is an identifiable group that possesses a disproportionate share of some valued resource – in this case, political power.  We will concentrate on these elites throughout the course.

Four major theories of who governs  Marxists  Power elites  Bureaucrats  populists

Marxists  The Marxist theory holds that government is merely a reflection of underlying economic forces.  Ownership of the means of production: capitalists (bourgeoisie) verses the workers (proletariat).

 Whichever class dominates the economy controls the government;  therefore, the interests of large corporations are particularly powerful in American government.

Power elite  A second, related view, the power elite, holds that elites outside government, in addition to corporate leaders, have power.  This view is expresses by C. Wrights Mills in his book The Power Elite.  He held that this group, a loose coalition, of non-government elite, composed of three groups – corporate leaders, top military officers, and key political leaders, make most political decisions.

 Also included in this group would be the leaders of media conglomerates; major labor leaders and leaders of special interest groups.

Bureaucrats  Appointed officials who operate government agencies and large corporations have come to dominate.  Max Weber, the foremost exponent of this view, felt the power of bureaucrats would become “overtowering.”  These bureaucrats bring the expertise and comprise the specialized managers.

Pluralist  Holds that political resources are so widely scattered that no single groups (national, state, local governments and anyone involved) can dominate most, or even much, of the political process.  Power may be exercise through such diverse groups that they represent almost all citizens affected by a policy. (businessmen, politicians, union leaders, journalists, bureaucrats, professors, environmentalists, lawyers).  In this view, policy comes from compromise.

 No single theory of political power is capable of adequately explaining the decision-making process.  Policy shifts reflect responses to changing beliefs about government’s role as well as the evolution of political institutions and elites over time.

 Factors that identify the political elite change over time.  Land ownership, once so critical to the exercise of influence, is largely irrelevant today.  Thus no stable pattern of decision- making will survive as valid for long.