Theories of Power In Democracy

I believe and agree with C. Wright Mills' theory about our government after reading the excerpt from "The Power Elite." Not only is he right, but frighteningly accurate with his statement that "Within American society, major national power now resides in the economic, the political, and the military domains." The average person is nowhere equal in American power circles as someone like Rupert Murdoch or Bill Gates is. The hierarchy that has been created takes almost all power away from "the People" that are supposed to be the represented in government. In our society, the voice of the citizen is far outweighed by the individuals who have the most money and can contribute the most to campaigns. These "elite" are much more represented because they have the wealth to keep their views relevant and make sure that ours are secondary. Also, for reference to history for evidence, during World War II the nation as a whole did not decide to drop Atom bombs on Japan, but a few key military officials and politicians who felt that it was necessary. The American people were not consulted, solidifying the point that we are not as powerful as we ought to be as stated in the Constitution. The "equal voice" we are supposed to have is non existent. Bill Gates for example, can create the Common Core and have it implemented simply because he has much more money than we do and can pay large sums to have his views heard. Corporations also control large portions of government because they have the ability to put candidates that they favor into office through huge amounts of contributions and friends in Legislation that they have already put into office who will support their new candidates. Also stated by Mills, all of the smaller institutions are also acted upon by the major three stated earlier. Laws and actions passed by the Major Three can create policy that smaller groups must follow. The voice of the people is truly not equal and wealth and favoritism because of wealth have destroyed the values of the American political system.