A power elite, in political and sociological theory, is a small group of
people who control a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, and
access to decision-making of global consequence. The term was coined by
Charles Wright Mills in his 1956 book, The Power Elite. The Power Elite
(1956) describes the relationship between political, military, and economic
elite (people at the pinnacles of these three institutions), noting that
these people share a common world view, 1) the "military metaphysic"- a
military definition of reality, possess 2) "class identity"- recognizing
themselves separate and superior to the rest of society, have 3)
interchangibility: i.e. the move within and between the three institutional
structures and hold interlocking directorates 4) cooptation/socialization:
of prospective new members is done based on how well they "clone" themselves
socially after such elite. Further these elite in the "big three"
institutional orders have an "uneasy" alliance based upon their "community
of interests" driven by the military metaphysic, which has transformed the
economy into a 'permanent war economy'.

In critical work, the U.S. power elite consists of members of the
Business/Corporate Community, Academia, politicians, media editors, military
service personnel, and high-profile journalists. From here on, a general
form of consensus building and homogenizing of elite members' views is
eventually achieved.

Contents
[hide]
a.. 1 Social structure forming "power elite"
b.. 2 See also
c.. 3 Academics who have written on the "power elite"
d.. 4 Groups described as members of the "power elite"
e.. 5 Further reading
f.. 6 References
g.. 7 External links

[edit] Social structure forming "power elite"
The "American Way" and the "American Dream" has been defined as

that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller
for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.
It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret
adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of
it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of
social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the
fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by
others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of
birth or position.[1]

It has been argued that a relatively fixed group of privileged Americans
shape our economy and government solely because of their higher wealth and
social status. This idea goes against the original American way, and begins
a new one. This new American way involves a fixed group of Americans, called
the "power elite".

The "power elite" stems from many groups that form into one:

a.. Corporate Community: This group includes rich corporations, banks and
agribusinesses. These tend to dominate the federal government in Washington.
b.. Growth Coalitions: This group includes real estate, construction and
land development companies. These tend to dominate the local governments.
Both the corporate communities and growth coalitions sometimes will have
conflicting ideas and competition between each other over profits and
investment opportunities. However, they tend to have the same policies
affecting their general welfare. These groups have the ability to organize
and defend their interests due to their large wealth and income. The owners
and managers of these large income producing properties hold a great share
of all of the income and wealth in the US. This is more than any other
industrial democracy (they are 1%% of the entire U.S. population). By holding
this share of income, these groups clearly create the dominating class in
the U.S. This dominating class has name of its own:

a.. Corporate Rich: This group becomes more of a common social group. They
belong to the same social clubs, they vacation at the same summer and winter
resorts and they send their children to the same private schools. They
create the "social upper class".
b.. Place Entrepreneurs: This group tends to be filled with members of the
"growth coalition". They sell locations and buildings. By doing this, they
become the local upper class in their respective cities. Because of this,
they tend to mingle with the "corporate rich" in vacation/resort settings or
educational settings.
c.. Policy - Formation Network: This group tends to be filled with members
from both the "corporate rich" and the "place entrepreneurs/growth
coalition". They develop and direct non-profit organizations, charity
foundations and policy discussion groups. As these non-profit groups join at
a national level, they are able to create policies for local communities and
national level city development organizations.
All of these groups take a part in creating the ultimate "power elite", the
leadership group for the corporate rich as a whole.

a.. "Power elite": This group tends to have corporate owners join with top
level executives in the "corporate community" and the "policy formation
network". This group tends to be the wealthiest in the US and use this group
title to create policies for the US to use on a national level. However, it
is clear that not all people in the power elite group are involved in
governance. Some simply enjoy the lifestyle wealth can bring.

[edit] See also
a.. Illuminati

[edit] Academics who have written on the "power elite"
a.. Charles Wright Mills: Sociologists, referenced in 1956 [1970] The
Power Elite. New York: Oxford University Press.
b.. G. William Domhoff: Sociologist
c.. Noam Chomsky: On a more general geopolitical view
d.. Carroll Quigley: Historian

[edit] Groups described as members of the "power elite"
a.. Council on Foreign Relations
b.. Project for the New American Century
c.. Bilderberg Group
d.. Freemasons
e.. Trilateral Commission

[edit] Further reading
a.. The Power Elite and the State: How Policy is Made in America 1990 pub.
Aldine De Gruyer, NY
b.. Who Rules America? G. William Domhoff
c.. The Epic of America James Truslow Adams
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Elite