Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Theories of Power in Democracy
In the exert from C. Wright Mills book From the Power Elite there are some valid points made by the writer but all in all I do not agree with the overall views of Mills on the power distribution within our democracy. The Elite group does play a large part in our political system but like Hannah said Mills is trying to say that our country relies on these people, we do not. These people make influences and impacts on the government that many times does not benefit the general public (not the one percent). So lots of time we do not rely on these people but resent them. In the first paragraph of the reading from Mills he gets straight to the point when he says, " Changes now press upon the men and women of the mass society, who accordingly feel that they are without purpose in an epoch in which they are without power". People now do think that their voice has little effect, but everyone has some power. Some may have more influence than others when it comes to money, like Zach previously said with Bill Gates and how he was able to implement the common core however there power is limited. Bill Gates' influence helped him to implement this but he could not have done so without the political backing of the government. I agree with Kayla when she says that hyperpluralism is the way that our power distribution is split right now. There are so many group right now that are not incredibly large but are still affecting and trying to have an influence on the government. Due to the fact that there are so many of these groups giving the government money the government feels is necessary to try and please everyone but compromising on policies that then in reality leave no one happy. This causes some displeasure with our government but it is indeed how our it works.
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I have to disagree with your characterization of our government as a hyperpluralist system. As you said yourself, the government is influenced and impacted by people who hold power in the corporate, military, and political fields, and as a result, citizens who are not a part of the top 1% are oftentimes resentful of the government because they feel its policies do not represent them well. Yes, everyone has power, as seen in basic voting rights, but beyond this, it is really these three elite groups that are true beholders of power. If, like you are suggesting, the United States was truly hyperpluralist, then smaller groups who are not part of the “big three” would have more effect on policies that are made. To use your example – Bill Gates’ common core is disliked by many (Gallup and Phi Delta Kappa put its approval rating at just 33%), and if our government was truly influenced by many groups, it likely would not have been implemented because the groups would be strong enough to have influence. Because Bill Gates is part of the elite, he was able to use this power to implement something that many groups don’t agree with, showing that our country is more aligned with the elitist theory. It is also notable to point out that elitist groups have more effect because they are more condensed and organized than the public, and so as a result, they are able to push policy forward without detriments we learned about that come along with larger groups than the elite that exist in the general public, such as the free-rider problem, which ultimately hurts their power and ability to impact policy. In response to your thought that citizens do not rely on the elite, I think that yes, they have differing opinions that cause resent of the elite and an unwillingness to submit to its views, but subconsciously, people allow life to be shaped by these three groups in a way that ends up providing them with more power. For example, in the Mills reading it was pointed out that religious institutions provide chaplains to armed forces, schools train people for corporate and army jobs, and extended family is influenced by economic and military factors, and so through these examples it can be seen that other aspects of life are influenced by the elite as well. Ultimately, I agree with your acknowledgement of the elite’s impact on our society, but I feel that it is important to recognize the true extent of this impact and realize that the general public is not in a position where they can affect policy like the elite can and does.
ReplyDeleteIn your comment you said that people subconsciously rely on the elite but in reality they don't. Like we saw on our scavenger hunt there are so many interest groups many for the similar fields. You do not necessarily have to be part of the elite to be a part of an interest group also. Yes, Bill Gates did influence part of the government but he did not do that alone like I said before. The government saw it fit and thus allowed it so it was not soly him. There are smaller groups like MADD, mothers against drunk driving who started out as a small group and have now changed policy in the government. Interest groups do not have to be the elite and thus the people do not rely on them. We have a hyperpluralism because there are so many interest groups trying to implement and change policy and many have succeeded.
ReplyDeleteI would say that we rely on the elite. as you say bill gates did no solely make the common core, however he did use his money to pay a team to create it Also, the government officials who passed the law were pressured into doing so as Gates' foundation promised money to tose who supoted the project in congress
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