According to the theory of elite democracy, all societies have rulers and ruled. It is always a few people who belong to the rulers. They exercise various political functions and monopolize state power. In modern large-scale society, due to complex social division of labor, huge organization and bureaucracy, important decision-making power is always in the hands of a few well-trained people.
Michels believes that although modern people have established organizations such as nation-states, trade unions, political parties or churches, they have to transfer effective power to a few people at the top of these organizations.
Both Weber and Schumpeter believe that classical democratic theory and the ideal of people's sovereignty are unworkable in modern society. This is because most voters are passive, indifferent and irrational in political life, unable to correctly understand and judge public affairs, and therefore unable to participate in political decision-making.
Weber believes that democracy is not the rule of the people, but the rule of political elites and professional politicians. Modern representative democracy is just a kind of "referendum leader democracy", and its main function is to elect political leaders.
Schumpeter put forward a modern definition of democracy in Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy: "The democratic method is an institutional arrangement for making political decisions. In this arrangement, some people gain the power to make decisions by winning the votes of the people." He believes that democracy is a process in which political elites compete for power and people choose political leaders.
Extended data
Elite Theory and Conflict Theory in Sociology
The founder of American conflict theory is C. Wright Mills. Mills believes that although he inherited the tradition of Marxism, many of his ideas also came from Max Weber. Mills' thought reflects the populism in the Midwest of the United States. This political ideology in the late19th century regards "people" as the opposite of the corrupt "big interest group" in American life.
Not only that, corporate executives often work in the government, and retired generals are frequently elected to corporate boards. Mills believes that this small and very concentrated group has made the most important decisions for American society, including war and peace, money and taxation, human rights and responsibilities.
Mills thus developed the central idea of contemporary conflict theory (Domhoff, 1978, 1983, 1990). Conflict theorists believe that although those power elites have obvious signs of success, they are not as aware of their power as their opponents.
In order to cope with the resistance and control the public's disgust within a certain limit, those in power always try to blur the boundary between themselves and the public. Nevertheless, the public can still realize their powerlessness and express their dissatisfaction. This tension between the strong and the weak breeds the fire of social conflict.
Those who benefit the most from the existing social order will try to maintain these systems, while those who are deprived will try to change all this. The conflict between these opposing groups will lead to major social changes.
Regardless of their personal preferences, most sociologists today recognize the value of functionalism and conflict theory, and believe that they have explored different aspects of society. Functionalism studies how people work together in their daily lives. It provides a useful answer to this question:
On the other hand, conflict theory pays attention to the stress and tension in life, the lack of social equality and the collapse of social order. Just as functionalism may go astray because it attaches too much importance to cooperation and order, conflict theory may also go astray because it thinks that social conflict is the main form of social communication. However, these two theoretical viewpoints have insight into the basic and universal aspects of social existence.
Baidu encyclopedia-elite democracy
Baidu encyclopedia-elite theory