Elitism Today

Elitism 

There is much controversy on who holds power in our government today. There are four main theories, these include Marxism, Elitism, Bureaucratic Elitism, and Pluralism. Of these four pluralism   elitism best describe our government. Most people believe that we have a pluralist government where the people have some power and can exert their influence on the government, however it more resembles the elitist theory in which the power is held by top leaders in society. Many people want or hoped for a pluralist government, but what actually happened is powerful leaders began to take this power.

Elitism, which was created by C. Wright Mills, is a theory in which, "The most important policies are set by a loose coalition of three groups-corporate leaders, top military officers, and a handful of key political leaders."(Wilsons Theory of Governance,38). Mills believes that the power is shared among top leaders that are at the head of society. In each society is an organization at the top full of these types of people that oversee the law and make decisions that are in the best interest of "elite" people. These people are usually wealthy, and have a higher education than most Americans, which is unfair to those who can not afford it. In his book, The Power Elite, he states that people of this class attend prestigious schools to get their education. In fact, many of our Presidents have attended Ivy league colleges to get their education. Elected Presidents are wealthy and have wealthy business friends that can help the win the election. This shows that a lot of the time only wealthy or people who have a status in the government have power.

Recently, Sheriff Joe Arpaio was convicted of Criminal contempt, but was pardoned by President Donald Trump. After the pardon was carried out, Trump stated that he was a great sheriff and has served our country well. A crime is a crime and the only reason that he was pardoned was because he was a long time supporter of President Trump and agreed with all his decisions. If this was any other ordinary sheriff, then Trump would not have granted him the pardon, but because he is a Trump supporter he would be considered an elite in many peoples eyes.

The Elitism best describes who holds power in our government, because as much as people would like to believe we have a pluralist government it resembles an elitist government more.