Wright C. Mills' "The Power Elite"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Mills' book, "The Power Elite," which is about the nature and function of the elite and how the economy, politics and military merge to dominate state affairs and, to a certain extent, even the personal affairs of people. The paper outlines the book's thesis as well as the criticisms and analysis of the power elite Mills offers in the book.

From the Paper:

"Mills goes back and forth in time to explain how this power culture was created and how it has remained intact since the independence. The author maintains that apart from the usual crowd i.e. the politicians and the entertainment professionals we have the corporate heroes who form an integral part of the power elite group. These are those obscenely rich people who made their fortunes during the industrial age and have managed to grow in wealth and power over the century. In the chapter "The Very Rich," Mills argues that these very rich people have now been able to attain the support of the mass media that projects them in positive light even though they were once called the "robber barons." In the past, they at least had the academic community against them but with the passage of time, it seems everyone including the scholars are in awe of their power and affluence."

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