Classical elite theory
In The Ruling Class (1896), Gaetano Mosca argued that every society has two classes, a minority that rules and a majority that is ruled. The minority can rule because it is organized; an unorganized majority, however large, cannot stand against it. The ruling class justifies its power by a political formula such as religion or democracy. Vilfredo Pareto (1916) saw elites as the most able people in each field and described history as the circulation of elites, an alternation between "foxes" who rule by cunning and "lions" who rule by force. Robert Michels (1911) analyzed the German Social Democratic Party, the most democratic of parties, and proposed the iron law of oligarchy: large organizations inevitably concentrate power in a small leadership because of the need for expertise and efficiency. His dictum "who says organization, says oligarchy" deeply influenced the study of bureaucracy.
The power elite and the pluralist debate
In The Power Elite (1956), C. Wright Mills argued that key decisions in 1950s America were made by a small group at the top of three institutions, corporate management, the military high command and the political directorate, connected through similar schools and social clubs. Floyd Hunter (1953) likewise found in a study of Atlanta that a few business leaders dominated local politics, and Domhoff (1967) analyzed how the upper class rules America through corporations and policy organizations. Against this, Robert Dahl (1961), in Who Governs?, analyzed policymaking in New Haven and found that different groups held influence on different issues, supporting pluralism, competition among many groups rather than a single elite. Bachrach and Baratz (1962) replied that Dahl examined only observable decisions, and that nondecision-making, keeping issues off the agenda altogether, is power's second face. Steven Lukes (1974) added a third dimension: power that shapes people's preferences themselves.
Democracy and recent research
Joseph Schumpeter (1942) reconciled elite theory with democracy by defining democracy not as rule by citizens but as a procedure in which voters choose leaders from among competing elites. This elite democracy, or competitive elitism, became one pillar of modern democratic theory. Higley and Burton (2006) argued that consensus and integration among elites are key to the stability of liberal democracy. Pierre Bourdieu (1989) showed how France's grandes écoles reproduce a "state nobility" through habitus and cultural capital. Gilens and Page (2014), analyzing 1,779 policy issues, found that US policy reflects the preferences of economic elites and organized interest groups far more than those of average citizens, sparking wide debate. Elite theory remains an important lens on how democracy actually works and on inequality, though methodological criticism continues over how to define elites and measure power.
FAQ
- What is elite theory in simple terms?
- In any society, democracy or dictatorship, the decisions that really matter are made by a small organized elite, and most citizens end up following them.
- What is the iron law of oligarchy?
- Michels's idea that even the most democratic organization, once it grows large, concentrates power in a small leadership because of the need for efficiency and expertise.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Mosca, G. (1939). The Ruling Class (H. D. Kahn, Trans.). New York: McGraw-Hill. (Original work published 1896)
- Pareto, V. (1935). The Mind and Society (A. Bongiorno & A. Livingston, Trans.). New York: Harcourt, Brace. (Original work published 1916)
- Michels, R. (1915). Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy. New York: Hearst's International Library. (Original work published 1911)
- Mills, C. W. (1956). The Power Elite. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Dahl, R. A. (1961). Who Governs? Democracy and Power in an American City. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- Hunter, F. (1953). Community Power Structure. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
- Bachrach, P., & Baratz, M. S. (1962). Two faces of power. American Political Science Review, 56(4), 947–952.
- Lukes, S. (1974). Power: A Radical View. London: Macmillan.
- Schumpeter, J. A. (1942). Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. New York: Harper & Brothers.
- Domhoff, G. W. (1967). Who Rules America? Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
- Higley, J., & Burton, M. (2006). Elite Foundations of Liberal Democracy. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
- Gilens, M., & Page, B. I. (2014). Testing theories of American politics: Elites, interest groups, and average citizens. Perspectives on Politics, 12(3), 564–581.
- Bourdieu, P. (1989). La Noblesse d'État: Grandes écoles et esprit de corps. Paris: Éditions de Minuit.