Week Fourteen Blog Entry: Who Has the Power?

I agree with the theory which describes the power elite as wielding the most power. Our text describes the power elite as a unified system of politicians, business leaders and military heads. The power elite come from white, wealthy families, have attended top-ranking universities like Harvard, Yale and Stanford, belong to the same clubs and committees, and often know one another personally, running in the same social circles. And they have a monopoly on power, making policy decisions in closed settings, thus, blocking interest groups and the mass population from having any real influence on how the country is run. It is rare to see anyone from the powerless ranks rise to the top level of power because the choices available to voters in presidential and congressional elections are so small that there is little effect or significance in who is actually chosen. This is especially disturbing since the social backgrounds of these leaders are unrepresentative of the United States population. The decisions being made are likely not the decisions the majority of the population would choose. With this structure, our country is seemingly more and more like a monarchy, leaving citizens with little reason to participate politically. We see this in the political morale of citizens who often wonder what difference it makes to vote.