In this week’s reading, we read
about different theories as to who wields power in our government today. There
were three different theories discussed. The first is democracy elitism, which
says that political leaders hold the power because they have expertise in the
matter and it is impractical to have a direct democracy in a large-scale
society. The second theory, known as pluralist theories, says that interests
groups hold the power in our society because the government bargains with these
groups in order to achieve a balance among competing interests. The third
theory, the power elite, says that a small network of individuals, usually
white Anglo-Saxon Protestants, holds concentrated power.
At first glance, I was inclined to
say that I believe the power elite theory is correct. However, in light of the
recent election, I do not believe this theory is correct anymore. The people
who fit the “power elite” classification were mostly supporters of Mitt Romney.
After Obama was reelected for a second term, I think it shows that this group
was not holding the most power. For example, Protestants would not typically
support abortion being legal. However, the nation voted for a president that
will keep it legal.
That being said, I think that the
best explanation for who holds political power in today’s government is the
pluralist theory. Before and after the recent election, there was a great deal
of news about how different interest groups felt towards social issues that
were important in the election. For example, Planned Parenthood is one group
that was very influential because they are providing monetary support for many
women in our nation. However, many religious organizations disagree with
Planned Parenthood because of the money that is spent on abortion and birth
control. I think that the balance among these competing interest groups
influences government policies.
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