Political Power in America: Five Views and Key Theorists (Chapter Notes)
Definition of representative democracy
Representative democracy is defined as a system of government in which leaders are authorized to make decisions and thereby wield political power by winning a competitive struggle for the popular vote.
The actual distribution of political power in representative democracy depends on the composition of the political elites who are involved in the struggles for power and over policy.
By elite, we mean an identifiable group of persons who possesses a disproportionate share of some valued resource, in this case, power.
Elite definition recap: an elite is a person who possesses a disproportionate share of some valued resource such as money, prestige, expertise, or in this case, political power.
Five competing views about how political power is distributed in America
There are at least five distinct theories about who holds power and how it is distributed in the U.S.:
The Class View
The Power Elite View
The Bureaucratic View
The Pluralist View
The Creedal Passion (Creedal/Creedal Passion) View
The Class View
Core claim: wealthy capitalists and other economic elites determine most policies; the government is dominated by capitalists.
Historical origin: began with the theories of Karl Marx; Marx argued that governments were dominated by business owners (the bourgeoisie) until a revolution replaced them with rule by laborers (the proletariat).
Modern nuance: strict Marxism has collapsed in most countries; today the class view, while inspired by Marx, is less dogmatic and emphasizes the power of the wealthy or leaders of multinational corporations.
The Power Elite View
Core claim: a small group of powerful individuals from business, the military, labor unions, and elected officials control most of the decisions.
Characteristic: this elite many of whom are outside the traditional electoral arena; they form a cohesive network that exercises decisive influence over policy.
The view is derived from the work of sociologist C. Wright Mills and argues that American democracy is dominated by a few top leaders who are wealthy or privately powerful and who do not hold elective office.
The Bureaucratic View
Core claim: appointed bureaucrats run everything despite the efforts of elected officials and the public to control them.
Origins and rationale: Max Weber argued that the modern state, to function effectively, puts its affairs in the hands of competent bureaucrats who master the written records and legislative details of government.
Mechanism: these officials not only implement policies but also make policies due to their expertise, specialization, and the scale/complexity of administration.
The Pluralist View
Core claim: political resources (money, prestige, expertise, access to the mass media) are so widely distributed that no single elite or social class or bureaucratic arrangement can dominate.
Key proponent: many twentieth-century political scientists, including David Truman, advocated pluralism.
Mechanism: in the United States, political power is dispersed across many governmental institutions (city councils, state legislatures, legislatures, executives, judges, bureaucrats) and many rival institutions, so policy results from competition among many affected interests.
The Creedal Passion (Creedal) View
Core claim: while the other four views may be correct for some issues or periods, the most important policy decisions and political changes are driven by morally impassioned elites whose motivation is not primarily economic self-interest but a zeal to align government with democratic ideals.
Proponent and articulation: Samuel P. Huntington articulated this creedal passion view.
Historical examples cited: Patrick Henry and the revolutionary leaders of the 1770s; Jacksonian democracy advocates in the 1820s; the progressive reformers of the early twentieth century; and the leaders of the civil rights and antiwar movements in the mid-twentieth century.
Origins and key figures linked to the five views
Class View
Influenced by Karl Marx’s theory of class domination by the bourgeoisie in the 19th century, with eventual proletarian revolution.
In contemporary use, the class view emphasizes the power of the rich and of leaders of multinational corporations, even if Marxist proclamation of permanent rule by capitalists is not accepted.
Power Elite View
Based on the work of C. Wright Mills, who argued that a small cadre of top leaders in business, the military, labor unions, and political spheres dominate decisions, often without holding elective office.
Bureaucratic View
Rooted in Max Weber’s analysis of modern state administration and bureaucracy; emphasis on appointed officials whose expertise governs and shapes policy beyond electoral mandates.
Pluralist View
Associated with David Truman and others who saw power as dispersed across many institutions and groups; no single elite can dominate due to structural multiplicity.
Creedal Passion View
Associated with Samuel P. Huntington; emphasizes moral and ideological motivations of elites driving transformative political change.
Examples and implications discussed
Creedal passion examples illustrate how ideologically driven leaders mobilize action across eras (revolutionary era, Jacksonian democracy, progressive era, civil rights, antiwar movements).
The five views provide competing explanations for why certain policies emerge, who benefits, and how power might be redistributed in different historical contexts.
Connections to broader principles and real-world relevance
These views offer complementary lenses for analyzing political influence, governance outcomes, and policy change in the United States.
They reflect ongoing debates about the balance between economic power, institutional structure, elite cohesion, pluralistic competition, and moral-ideological motivation in shaping government.
Understanding these theories helps explain why reforms and policy shifts occur under some administrations or eras and why different groups may perceive power dynamics so differently.
Summary insights for exam-style understanding
Representative democracy relies on competitive struggle for the popular vote, but the resulting power distribution depends on who can become leaders and what other influences guide actions.
An elite is any group with disproportionate access to valued resources (money, prestige, expertise, political power).
The five views differ primarily on who holds ultimate influence: capitalists (class view), a small set of private- and non-elected leaders (power elite), bureaucrats (bureaucratic), a broad field of competing interests (pluralist), or morally driven elites (creedal passion).
Karl Marx and Max Weber are foundational figures for the class and bureaucratic views, respectively; C. Wright Mills anchors the power elite view; David Truman anchors pluralism; and Samuel P. Huntington articulates the creedal passion view with historical examples spanning from the revolutionary era to the civil rights era.