The Power Elite
C. Wright Mills's 1956 account of the military, corporate and political elite that runs America.
At a glance
Key ideas
Three pillars, Six types, Which Harvard? …
See all 4Reception
Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Adolf Berle, Dennis Wrong …
See all 4Connections
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Mills argues that the leaders of America's military, corporations and federal government form an interlocking power elite.
- Their decisions have enormous consequences, while ordinary citizens are relatively powerless.
- The elite need not conspire or even see themselves as an elite, but they form a quasi-hereditary caste educated at a few schools and clubs.
- His summary: "No one runs it altogether, but in so far as any group does, the power elite."
Why it matters
- It is the classic statement of elite theory in American sociology and is still argued over in debates about who holds power.
Key facts
- Author
- C. Wright Mills1
- Published
- 19561
- Counterpart to
- His White Collar (1951), on middle managers1
- Inspiration
- Franz Neumann's Behemoth (1942), on how Nazism took power1
Key ideas
-
Three pillars1
Two or three hundred giant corporations, a strong federal state, and the military establishment.
-
Six types1
The Metropolitan 400, celebrities, chief executives, the corporate rich, warlords and the political directorate.
-
Which Harvard?1
Elite schooling matters less than the right clubs and prep schools.
-
Not a conspiracy1
The elite may be unaware of its own status.
Reception
-
Arthur Schlesinger Jr.1
Hoped Mills would give back "his prophet's robes" and be a sociologist again.
-
Adolf Berle1
Found "an uncomfortable degree of truth" but called it "an angry cartoon".
-
Dennis Wrong1
Called it "an uneven blend of journalism, sociology, and moral indignation".
-
Fidel Castro2
Told Mills he had read and studied it.
Connections
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Links
Sources
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