Concentration of Power is an inevitable feature of all political systems. Discuss. - page 1
Keywords: concentration of power seperation theories political marxism marxist elitism elitist pluralism pluralist
By exploiit on 19/06/2010
Level: A Level (Year 13)
Page Number: 1 of 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
A common question in political theory relates to how and where state power lies, and whether or not this power is concentrated to a very few. Elite theorists support the view that power is (and should be) in the hands of society’s elites and that it is not extended further as this would threaten the fabric of the elite. Marxist and Pluralist theorists however, each present separate beliefs that largely contradict the reasoning of Elitists and in order to come to a reasonable conclusion on the concentration of power, it is important to explore each of these theories.
The idea that concentration of political power is an inevitable feature of all political systems is suggested by advocates of the ‘elite theory'. Historically, they argue, a very few have always ruled the many and this suggests that concentration of power is an inevitable feature of the social and political fabric. They note that, because people are born with different skills and qualities, there will always be people who are inherently elite or better than others and that they will (and should) rise to the top in order to rule in a way that the masses are incapable of doing (this is because, elitists say, humans are inconsistent in their feelings and are intellectually and organisationally weak). Although theorists disagree on the specific bases for identifying members of society’s elite, there is general consensus that members rise to the top because they possess extraordinary traits.
Vilfredo Pareto was one theorist who presented this view, claiming that those who rise to elite circles usually possess superior personal qualities. He suggested that two qualities in particular were important and used these to categorise the governing and non-governing elite; coercive ‘lions’ and cunning ‘foxes’ and he explained that a circulation of these elites would be necessary with changes in society. This can be seen in terms of the political leadership of Britian; during Margaret Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister, she played a very assertive and dominant role, displaying ‘lion’ tendencies. Replacing Thatcher was John Major who adopted a more consensus-seeking role as a ‘fox’. A pattern appeared evident then, when Blair took power as more of a lion, only to be replaced by a ‘fox’, Gordon Brown.
Another theorist, Gaetano Mosca, suggested instead that elites are distinct from the rest of the population due to their superior organisational abilities, which would differ from society to society. Mosca also suggested
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