Who Rules America? Elite Theory and Pluralism

You have begun to evaluate the components of a democratic society, but not all theories of democracy assess democracy in the same way. For example, communists espouse “democratic centralism.” In this theory people give input beginning at the lowest levels of the party and all members are bound by the decisions made at the highest levels. Other controversies concern who actually governs in democratic states. In order to begin understanding a government, we must answer the two basic questions:

Who governs?
For what purpose?

When you read the Preamble to the American Constitution you see how the founders answered those questions. They indicated that "we the people" governed and listed their purposes. Some have suggested that if we revisit those questions today, we will find out who has the power in America, and how it is used. Each year, the periodical U.S.News and World Report revisits the issue and it releases a "Who Rules America Now" edition. That article lists the top "power players" in America.

We will study in greater depth about elite and pluralist theories of who rules. These theories attempt to explain who has the power in government.