The power elite
First published in 1956, this text is widely regarded as a contemporary classic of social science and social criticism. The author examines and critiques the organization of power in the United States, calling attention to three firmly interlocked prongs of power: the military, corporate, and political elite. This text can be read as an account of what was taking place in America at the time it was written, but its underlying question of whether America is as democratic in practice as it is in theory continues to matter very much today. What this text informed readers of in 1956 was how much the organization of power in America had changed during their lifetimes; Alan Wolfe's afterword to this new edition discusses how much more has changed since then. Wolfe sorts out what is helpful in this book and which of Mill's predictions have not come to bear, laying out the radical changes in American capitalism, from intense global competition and the collapse of communism to rapid technological transformations and ever changing consumer tastes
1 online resource (449 pages)
9780199761142, 9780199756339, 0199761140, 0199756333
609859774
Print version:
Contents
The higher circles
Local society
Metropolitan 400
The celebrities
The very rich
The chief executives
The corporate rich
The warlords
The military ascendancy
The political directorate
The theory of balance
The power elite
The mass society
The conservative mood
The higher immorality