Who Rules in Our Democracy?

A democracy is a political system that allows the citizens to participate in political decision making or to elect representatives to government bodies. The United States embodies a liberal democracy, or a system of democracy in which voters can choose between two or more political parties and the majority of the adult population has the full right to vote. This is different from other kinds of democracy such as a participatory or direct democracy in which all members of a group or community participate collectively in making decisions, as in ancient Athens. While citizens of the United States may exercise their right to vote, who really holds the power in our society? There are a few theories that seek to explain this.

Democratic elitism, founded by Max Weber, explains that democracy is impossible as a means of government for large scale societies because millions of people cannot meet to make political decisions and running a complex society requires expertise. Weber believes “rule by the people” is possible, but in a limited sense. In order to achieve power, political parties must become organized in a systematic, bureaucratized way, and effective democratic systems have: 1. Political parties that represent different outlooks, thereby creating choice for voters, and 2. Political leaders with imagination and courage to escape bureaucracy. Joseph Schumpeter echoed Weber’s viewpoints and added that democracy is about the rule of the politician rather than the people. I agree with these points, but the following theories encompass even more information.

The pluralist theory accepts Weber’s beliefs in that individuals have little or no direct influence on political decision making, but pluralism proposes that individuals can exercise influence through the presence of interest groups, or groups organized to pursue specific interests in the political arena, operating primarily by lobbying the members of legislative bodies. These competing interest groups are vital to democracy as they divide power and prevent any one particular group from becoming too powerful including the government. While I agree that this theory holds many truths, I think the following theory makes the most sense.

           The Power Elite was a work by C. Wright Mills that explains how the United States has changed during the twenty-first century. I agree most with this theory because it cites how our nation has changed in terms of politics, economics, and military. For example, in terms of the economy, small units, businesses, banks, and farms used to be more prevalent, but now our society is dominated by many large corporations, and I think this is an accurate statement. Mills explains that political, economic, and military spheres have become more centralized and have merged into a unified system of power, and those who hold the most power in running the country are called the power elite. Mills explains that power is divided as such: the power elite (wealthy families and political leaders from upscale, prestigious backgrounds. They are closely connected, work together, and have considerable influence in power and policies), interest groups and local government agencies, and at the lowest, the rest of the population, which has little or no power due to the closed settings of the power elite. I agree with this division because I think wealthy, government officials hold the most power due to their close-knit connections and upscale backgrounds, followed by people in interest groups who seek to lobby and manipulate the power elite, and finally the rest of the population, which has little power except voting for a candidate whose policies are already predetermined by interest groups. 

     I think that for a democracy being showcased as a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” it is rather unequal in its manipulative structure of power and influence. 

Haha, this cartoon may be unfair and wrong, but I couldn't help but giggle.