power elite

Examples of power elite in the following topics:

• Propaganda and the Mass Media

  • Mass media can be employed to manipulate populations to further the power elite's agenda.
  • They argue that such a portrayal was often used as a means to silence voices critical of elite interests.
  • The Power Elite is a 1956 book by sociologist C.
  • These two models—the propaganda and the "power elite" conceptualization—evidence how mass media can be used to reinforce the powerful's positions of power and interests.
  • Evaluate the impact of mass media as propaganda, particularly in terms of the "power elite"

• The Conflict Perspective

  • Individuals and resources, in turn, are influenced by these structures and by the "unequal distribution of power and resources in the society. " Mills argued that the interests of the power elite of American society (for example, the military-industrial complex) were opposed to those of the people.
  • He theorized that the policies of the power elite would result in the "increased escalation of conflict, production of weapons of mass destruction, and possibly the annihilation of the human race. "

• The Conflict Perspective

  • Rather, power also operates in hidden ways.
  • In that way, they were able to avoid any real challenges to their power.
  • People are then impacted by the creation of social structures, and the usual result is a differential of power between the "elite" and the "others".
  • Examples of the "elite" would be government and large corporations.
  • William Domhoff believes in a similar philosophy as Mills and has written about the "power elite of America".

• Oligarchy

  • An oligarchy is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society.
  • Privatization allowed executives to amass phenomenal wealth and power almost overnight.
  • An oligarchy is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family, military, or religious hegemony.
  • Oligarchies are often controlled by politically powerful families whose children are heavily conditioned and mentored to be heirs of the power of the oligarchy.
  • In de jure oligarchies, an elite group is given power by the law.

• Politics

  • From this perspective there are three major theoretical frameworks: pluralism, elite or managerial theory, and class analysis (which overlaps with Marxist analysis).
  • There are multiple lines of power that shift as power is a continuous bargaining process between competing groups.
  • The theory posits that a small minority—consisting of members of the economic elite and policy-planning networks—holds the most power.
  • Through positions in corporations, corporate boards, and policy-planning networks, members of the "elite" are able to exert significant power over the policy decisions of corporations and governments.
  • Social class analysis emphasizes the political power of capitalist elites.

• The Credentialized Society

  • In this system, Anglo-Protestant elites are selectively separated from other students and placed into prestigious schools and colleges, where they are trained to hold positions of power.
  • By teaching middle class culture through the public education system, the elite class ensures a monopoly over positions of power, while others acquire the credentials to compete in a subordinate job market and economy.
  • In this way, schools of medicine, law, and elite institutions have remained closed to members of lower classes.

• Types of States

  • States vary based on who holds power, who elects the empowered, and how authority is maintained.
  • One way to classify these governments is by looking at how leaders gain power.
  • Some monarchs hold unlimited political power while many constitutional monarchies, such as the United Kingdom and Thailand, have monarchs with limited political power.
  • An oligarchy is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family, military, or religious hegemony.
  • However, if any democracy is not carefully legislated with balances, such as the separation of powers, to avoid an uneven distribution of political power, then a branch of the system of rule could accumulate power and become harmful to the democracy itself.

• Types of Governments

  • In addition to there existing various legitimate means of holding power, there are a variety of forms of government.
  • Holding unlimited political power in the state is not the defining characteristic, as many constitutional monarchies such as the United Kingdom and Thailand are considered monarchies yet their monarchs have limited political power.
  • However, if any democracy is not carefully legislated to avoid an uneven distribution of political power with balances, such as the separation of powers, then a branch of the system of rule could accumulate power and become harmful to the democracy itself.
  • An oligarchy is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family, military or religious hegemony.
  • Such states are often controlled by politically powerful families whose children are heavily conditioned and mentored to be heirs of the power of the oligarchy.

• Colonialism and the Spread of Diseases

  • These same models continued to benefit elites and addressed the "rural poor" once the "needs of the urban elite were attended to. " Hospitals in metropolitan areas were first priority, followed by small rural clinics that were underfunded, understaffed, and, thus, less effective.
  • From the beginning of the twentieth century onwards, the elimination or control of disease in tropical countries became a driving force for all colonial powers.

• The Conflict Perspective on Deviance

  • Conflict theories draw attention to power differentials, such as class conflict, and generally contrast historically dominant ideologies.
  • The legal rights of poor folks might be ignored, while the middle class side with the elites rather than the poor.
  • Michel Foucault believed that torture had been phased out from modern society due to the dispersion of power; so there was no need any more for the wrath of the state on a deviant individual.
  • Rather, the modern state receives praise for its fairness and dispersion of power that, instead of controlling each individual, controls the mass.