C. Wright Mills On The Power Elite

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C. Wright Mills defines the power elite as people who have enough power to make decisions that can impact others. The elite come to conclusions with the help of educated professionals. Some of the elite do not even realize how much power they wield. In America, political, economic, and military institutions have all the power. Over time, they each changed drastically. Other systems, such as that of education, are designed around the main 3 groups; they have little decision-making power. The lives of the typical American depend on their choices in the 3 major sectors. Those who end up being successful and part of the power elite often had similar lifestyles. The wealth of the country resides in a few hundred companies, the government has all the power, and the military is very costly. Therefore, Mills believes that the executive branch has become more powerful than the government itself. In addition, he thinks that the more concentrated power is in one of the institutions, the larger impact it has on the people and the more it interacts with the other 2 groups. If a harmful choice is made, the citizens will suffer even harsher consequences.…show more content…
The richest people did not come together with ulterior motives. The elite class came about as a result of the circumstances of the time. Mills wrote his political essay in the 1950s. Therefore, he believes that the political, economic, and military realms started working together because of the Cold War, which occurred during that time. Because they are operating within established power structures, rather than making their presence known, they can be more secretive and get to take advantage of some loopholes. They will not try to alter the powers of congress or change the constitution because they are benefitting from the current power structure. The private nature of the power elite is not questionable since they are unknowledgeable of their

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