Mills: The Power Elite

In The Power Elite, Miller described "the development of a permanent war establishment by a privately incorporated economy inside a political vacuum" (p.19). He sees the democratic system as "weakened," with power wielded by "the military capitalism of private corporations" (p. 276). As far as the motives of the power elite, they are in line with their own corporations, not with the public interest. Miller notes that "Not only their money, but their friends, their interests, their training...are deeply involved with ...this corporate world. To ask a man to suddenly divest himself of these interests and sensibilities is almost like asking a man to become a woman." Miller's comments seem quite modern, as apt today as they were in 1956. He notes that the very rich have created and used laws for their own direct benefit (p. 99). Along with the consolidation of power and wealth at the top among the power elite comes the disenfranchisement of those at the bottom, a theme we have seem repeatedly in our readings this semester. With the interlocking of military and corporate interests, we have produced a Dick Cheney, who entered the Iraqi war for the benefit of a his elite friends and family, meanwhile destroying thousands of people, creating havoc in the Middle East, and creating a huge deficit for the American people. It would seem the checks and balances of the democratic system have been badly derailed.

It is an insidious problem, as governments, the military, and corporations use families and churches and schools as a means to their own end (p.6). I have observed this process firsthand in the Rockland County legislature where I spoke several times on behalf of arts funding. Groups of rightwing born-again Christians were bussed in to fight against funding for Planned Parenthood. The former were given carte blanche to speak at length while those opposing them and those speaking out for nonprofit causes were cut off in mid-sentence after 3 minutes. The question is, how do those caught in the "stalemate" in the middle or the "vicious circle of poverty at the bottom" rectify the problem?