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Art 101
19 November 2018
Research Essay: American Political process
The American political process in this day and age has turned out to be more complex that stated in the documents of our constitution. People have been trying to manipulate the system to fulfil their own vested interests which, in most cases, revolve around the accumulation of wealth and the sustenance of their own personal gain. This article will discuss, in detail, the different theories that attempt to explain the American political process. We will explain how the elite theory is the best amongst many, which attempt to solve the problem of explaining the reality of what we call as the American political process.
The Elite Theory
In the field of political science and sociology, elite theory refers to the state that seeks to explain and describe the different concepts and centers of power and their relationship with one another. In essence, the elite theory attempts to explain the power dynamics in the contemporary world. The gist of the theory revolves around a small minority of people holding the maximum power within a state or union of states. That minority goes by the name of elite. The theory explains how this small group of people dictates the policy making of the state and making them the most influential. Elite theory is the exact polar opposite of pluralism. Pluralism is another theory which attempts to explain the situation of a political sphere just as elite theory does, but it posits the idea that all individuals, in one way or another hold some degree of power to change the political and social situation of their country. Elite theory basically argues that democracy is nothing but a cover to fool the masses (Higley). The “elite” are supposed to control proceedings of the country by settling in advanced positions within the government and also by spending their resources to buy the loyalty of certain important individuals. In the context of the American political system, the elite theory can be applied to suggest that the elite consists of economists and businessmen which basically have a monopoly on resources of the country. A very good example of this belief can be seen in the Forbes magazine article that was published in the last month of 2009 in which it was categorically declared that that the whole world was basically being controlled by 67 powerful men. They have the bulk of resources accumulated which are then used to make decisions concerning states and people as a whole. The basic postulations of this theory include the idea that power is concentrated and that the elites work with their resources towards a common goal. In essence, one can say that they are unified. The theory also suggests that when a group of people are excluded from the mainstream or the elite of a certain nation, counter-elites develop which, then pose threats to the already developed mainstream. When analyzing elite theory in the american context, one can safely say that the questions of gun-laws are generally being dictated and answered by the businessmen who own the majority of such business (Pakulski) .The kind of disasters that occur on a daily basis in the American society such as mass shooting in churches, concerts and schools can provide a very strong counter-argument to these people. But, since most of the power is vested in the elite and the minds of people can be manipulated using the media houses, these elite spend resources on media to get the right kind of news coverage. This news coverage in turn protects the interests of these businessmen and thus no mass movement emerges.
Works Cited:
Higley, John. "Elite theory and elites." Handbook of politics. Springer, New York, NY, 2010. 161-176.
Pakulski, Jan. "The Development of elite theory." The Palgrave handbook of political elites. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2018. 9-16.
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