I had seen many references to The Power Elite over the years but, as time passed, supposed the book had gradually become dated. David Talbot's continuing admiration for C. Wright Mills, expressed in his powerful book, The Devil's Chessboard, convinced me that I should read The Power Elite, if only as an important document of American political reality in the early 1950's. When Alan Wolfe wrote his “new Afterward” for this book in 2000 it seems to have been regarded as an important updating of Mills' analysis. Now, seventeen years later, I disagree.
One of Mills' cautionary emphases was that the Power Elite's alliance of military, industrial, and political leaders would inevitably lead to the United States sustaining highly profitable perpetual warfare. In his Afterward, Wolfe was convinced that the chastening experience of the Vietnam War would assure that this country would be unwilling and/or unable to sustain perpetual war for the sake of corporate profits. Regrettably, as we have since seen in Afghanistan and in the Middle East, that is exactly what the Deep State has wrought, with the complicity of the corporate media and the ready acquiescence of the easily-duped voting public.
Tangentially, Wolfe repudiated Wright's prediction that the military would increasingly come to dominate both the American economy and political system. Here, again, Wolfe was wrong. Any meaningful accounting of the military's grasp of our economy must extend far beyond the nominal Defense budget, to the “dark matter,” off-budget and kept from public scrutiny, devoted to our military adventures, the seventeen-plus agencies of the Security State, and the U.S. Military's domination of research funding throughout American universities. As for influence of our political process, it should be enough to note how many military generals are now key members of the Trump Administration.
Wolfe was just as fundamentally mistaken in his view that Mills underestimated the importance of the politicians who have a role in The Power Elite. Mills observed over a half century ago that, despite the huge attention and money directed to their campaigns and careers, most members of Congress are not major players in the making of the key decisions about which the Deep State really cares. And even the handful of key congressional players are more the Deep State's tools than actually calling the shots.
Finally, Wolfe thought that Mills was unduly pessimistic about the likelihood that the American public would ever become cognizant of the Power Elite/Deep State and muster the collective will to oppose it. Take a good look at the functioning of our economy, political process, and foreign policy and it's clear that C. Wright Mills' analysis had no need of Wolfe's second-guessing.
The first half of The Power Elite remains a remarkably prescient consideration of how the world really works. The editors of the next edition of this invaluable work would do well to drop Wolfe's Afterward.
The Power Elite New Edition
by
C. Wright Mills
(Author),
Alan Wolfe
ISBN-13:
978-0195133547
ISBN-10:
0195133544
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First published in 1956, The Power Elite stands as a contemporary classic of social science and social criticism. C. Wright Mills examines and critiques the organization of power in the United States, calling attention to three firmly interlocked prongs of power: the military, corporate, and
political elite. The Power Elite can be read as a good account of what was taking place in America at the time it was written, but its underlying question of whether America is as democratic in practice as it is in theory continues to matter very much today.
What The Power Elite informed readers of in 1956 was how much the organization of power in America had changed during their lifetimes, and Alan Wolfe's astute afterword to this new edition brings us up to date, illustrating how much more has changed since then. Wolfe sorts out what is helpful in
Mills' book and which of his predictions have not come to bear, laying out the radical changes in American capitalism, from intense global competition and the collapse of communism to rapid technological transformations and ever changing consumer tastes. The Power Elite has stimulated generations of
readers to think about the kind of society they have and the kind of society they might want, and deserves to be read by every new generation.
political elite. The Power Elite can be read as a good account of what was taking place in America at the time it was written, but its underlying question of whether America is as democratic in practice as it is in theory continues to matter very much today.
What The Power Elite informed readers of in 1956 was how much the organization of power in America had changed during their lifetimes, and Alan Wolfe's astute afterword to this new edition brings us up to date, illustrating how much more has changed since then. Wolfe sorts out what is helpful in
Mills' book and which of his predictions have not come to bear, laying out the radical changes in American capitalism, from intense global competition and the collapse of communism to rapid technological transformations and ever changing consumer tastes. The Power Elite has stimulated generations of
readers to think about the kind of society they have and the kind of society they might want, and deserves to be read by every new generation.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"A classic...the first full-scale study of the structure and distribution of power in the Unites States by a sociologist using the full panoply of modern-day sociological theory and methods."--Contemporary Sociology
About the Author
The late C. Wright Mills, Professor of Sociology at Columbia University, was a leading critic of modern American civilization. Alan Wolfe is University Professor and Professor of Political Science and Sociology at Boston University. He is the author or editor of more than ten books, including
Marginalized in the Middle and One Nation, After All.
Product details
- Publisher : Oxford University Press; New Edition (February 17, 2000)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 448 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0195133544
- ISBN-13 : 978-0195133547
- Lexile measure : 1440L
- Item Weight : 11.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 8 x 1 x 5.3 inches
-
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#99,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #33 in Sociology (Books)
- #106 in Poverty
- #111 in Linguistics Reference
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Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2017
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Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2017
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C. Wright Mills wrote this landmark volume sixty years ago, but the problems he confronted have not disappeared, but merely altered. In this decade as well as the late Fifties, it seems when one pursues American power to see who holds it, the ability to wield power becomes more diffuse -- but suddenly more concentrated once out of popular (or direct-political) control. Today we live in a world in which American business people, like the companies they helm, are as apt to go international (or even multinational) once they feel domestic restrictions have become too onerous. High military officers fight their way upward, often to enjoy "rock star" lifestyles with high visibility and mistresses, yet nonetheless keep their power, by direct appeal to the American people if necessary. Once out of the line of fire (literally), they semi-retire to low-burden teaching loads at large State universities, where they can write (or co-write) books about history, military strategy or current affairs. The malfeasance of financiers is legendary; yet somehow the worst offenders escape prosecution. Media people enjoy as much visibility as movie stars, and can even switch careers -- we are now living with a real-estate investor who became an NBC reality-show host and last year, President of the USA, without sloughing off some of the properties the law claims he should.
Of course, C. Wright Mills wrote this book in an era in which newspapers, not TV, set the public agenda, and visuality or "image" did not reign supreme as it does now. This book is imperative reading to political-science majors and others with an interest in public policy to see what the foundations were to get us where we are now -- you might even understand how the "Power Elite" tends to insulate itself from allegations of abuse and opportunistic career-switching. I know this book is still often assigned in college courses, and that cheers me. It reads well, too!
Of course, C. Wright Mills wrote this book in an era in which newspapers, not TV, set the public agenda, and visuality or "image" did not reign supreme as it does now. This book is imperative reading to political-science majors and others with an interest in public policy to see what the foundations were to get us where we are now -- you might even understand how the "Power Elite" tends to insulate itself from allegations of abuse and opportunistic career-switching. I know this book is still often assigned in college courses, and that cheers me. It reads well, too!
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Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2014
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Great read. What Mills wrote about in the 1950's is amazingly relevant today. The Afterword written in 2000 by Alan Wolfe provides a noteworthy example of failing to understand that the relevance of Mill's work was not limited to the 50's and 60's. In short, Wolfe dismissed Mill's work as irrelevant at the time of his writing, and concluded that the military-industrial complex had long since been killed off by capitalism. In the short-sightedness of the pre-911 world, Wolfe's analysis would stand unchallenged. But in the post-911 world we live in today, we have been thrown back into the world Mills wrote about, as if we had never left it. Apparently not much has change. The fall of the Berlin wall and the ensuing prosperity of the post-cold war years merely moved the military-industrial complex pot to simmer on the back burner; that is until the next crisis when the "warlords" (Mills's term for the uniting of the military, economic and political powers to be) could once again move it back to the front burner. 911 and the war on terror were that crisis.
If you want to find out why Congress seems so incredibly out of touch and useless today, read this book. If you want to find out why the policies of the uber-liberal Obama administration seem so similar to those of the neoconservative Bush administrations, read this book. If you want to find out why government bureaucracy continues to extend its reach deeper and deeper into our lives, regardless of the party in power, read this book. If you want to find out why changes of power at the election level result in such little change in policy, read this book. If you want to find out why today's liberalism seems limited to firey rhetoric and staged talking points, with both parties often using the same ones with only slight differences, read this book.
All this and more is what makes "The Power Elite" an amazingly relevant read today.
If you want to find out why Congress seems so incredibly out of touch and useless today, read this book. If you want to find out why the policies of the uber-liberal Obama administration seem so similar to those of the neoconservative Bush administrations, read this book. If you want to find out why government bureaucracy continues to extend its reach deeper and deeper into our lives, regardless of the party in power, read this book. If you want to find out why changes of power at the election level result in such little change in policy, read this book. If you want to find out why today's liberalism seems limited to firey rhetoric and staged talking points, with both parties often using the same ones with only slight differences, read this book.
All this and more is what makes "The Power Elite" an amazingly relevant read today.
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Top reviews from other countries
José Cardoso
5.0 out of 5 stars
The democratization of The Army as a consequente of Civil War.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2019Verified Purchase
The sociologic perspective of American Society in Century XX.
Jean-Paul Azam
5.0 out of 5 stars
Une analyse dépassée, mais éclairante
Reviewed in France on August 30, 2017Verified Purchase
Wright Mills a développé la sociologie des élites de façon percutante, beaucoup plus politique que ce qu'avait fait Veblen un demi-siècle plus tôt dans son analyse de "The Leisure Class". Il décortique l'entrelac de relations entre les mondes de l'entreprise, des armées, et du politique d'une manière qui éclaire la voie pour comprendre la situation présente. Le post-scriptum d'Alan Wolfe montre les évolutions survenues entre les années 1950 et la fin du siècle. Pour se faire peur, et comprendre où on en est aujourd'hui aux USA, il est utile de lire le livre de Andrew Cockburn (2016): "Kill Chain. Drones and the Rise of High-Tech Assassins", publié chez Verso (Londres et New York). On y voit comment la sur-facturation des contrats d'armement et leur mise en oeuvre en dépit des avis négatifs des experts permettent de financer cinq grosses sociétés américaines avec l'argent des contribuables au prix de dizaines de milliers de morts dans les pays où les Etats-Unis font des interventions militaires contre-productives, visant probablement à soutenir la demande solvable pour les produits de leur industrie d'armement. Pour la France, beaucoup moins virulent, le livre du Montpelliérain William Genieys (2010): "The New Custodians of the State. Programmatic Elites in French Society", publié par Transaction Publishers (New Brunswick et Londres), apporte quelques éléments intéressants pour analyser les élites françaises, dans un esprit proche de celui de Wright Mills.
STILICON
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential study of the United States
Reviewed in France on December 7, 2018Verified Purchase
This study by one of the best american scientists, should be read by everybody who wants to understand what happened since the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and more, since the end of WW II, and even before....The other books to read in order to understand are, for example, Colonel L. Fletcher Prouty, The Secret Team, and his other book on the plot to assassinate Kennedy. The books of William Turner, former FBI Agent who resigned after ten years, because of his opposition to J.E. Hoover...... And you'll find the few essential yourself by searching a little.... Let us not forget James W. DOUGLASS : JFK Why he died and why it matters.
Maurice Leruth
5.0 out of 5 stars
ok
Reviewed in France on November 29, 2018Verified Purchase
ok
eric rousselbin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good book
Reviewed in France on March 3, 2014Verified Purchase
Un des meilleurs livres sur la sociologie des élites américaines. Une référence pour qui veut comprendre certains développements actuels dans le monde globalisé et peut-être sur une certaine influence du modèle américain des élites à l'échelle mondiale.
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