Political Science: American Government
Uploaded by CaseyP on Jan 26, 2018
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Political Science: American Government
The major theories that revolve around the American leadership are pluralism and elitism, which concentrate on the distribution of power. In this case, the pluralist theory is defined as one where the government has all the members sharing equal status with regards to possessions, authority, and privileges (Krutz and Waskiewicz 17). In other words, this form of leadership seems to appeal to the public including the less fortunate. On the other hand, elite theory entails the privileged individuals and those who have attained the success ladder in the sense that they are in a position to take up the governing power due to their notable prominence. Such power distinction of power started to be evident during the historical periods. The main reason the American colonists revolted was due to their belief that they had been denied their privileges, especially in the aftermath of the French and Indian battle (Bardes et al. 45). The initial feeling before the revolt was that they were becoming more prosperous and that they deserved more rights than those from Britain. In essence, the American government is formed through elitism despite many arguing that pluralism has a part to play in its creation. In fact, this can be seen from the political class that rules the nation, who are well educated and prominent individuals in the United States.
Chapter 1: Elitism vs. Pluralism
The question whether the American government is formed by the citizens or the elite is debatable. In this case, it is clear that the United States gives a chance to its people to take part in leadership in various ways. Moreover, it is created into many diverse levels and departments where citizens can access services. In this case, some people may argue that the citizens in the United States influence the actions by their government (Krutz and Waskiewicz 16). However, opponents of this pluralist theory argue that this is not the case in the United States because many economically and politically privileged individuals tend to influence the leadership.
The above information leads me to the belief that the elites form the government in the current regime. In this case, I would agree with authors, such as Wright Mills who indicated that the government is mostly under the hands of the business community, military, and the political elites (Krutz and Waskiewicz 16). The leaders are well-established individuals who have graduated from prestigious...