POLSCI 1AA3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Elite Theory, Steven Lukes, Robert A. Dahl
5 Dec 2018
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Document Summary
If you are wealthy you can influence political stuff, more than less wealthy people. Historically, society has been divided into two - those who rule and those who are ruled. Elite theory asks the question of why this has been the case and whether this inequality is an inescapable element of human society. Elite rule is an inevitability regardless of the type of political institution in place. To sum: for classical elite theorists, the divide between the two is an inevitability in any society. A few have power and dominate political processes. Two root cause explanations in elite theory: natural differences. Certain physiological and psychological characteristics confer a political. It is the effect of structures advantage and thereby lead to elite domination. Some people are naturally talented than others. There may be cases of social/political change. However, the end result is one elite replacing another rather than the elimination of elite rule as such.
