The history of power elite in the American society was influenced by various social and political changes. The role of power elite was determined by the urgent needs and demands of this society. For instance, in the early nineteenth century, the economic order was broadening with the development of individual property ownership, although these elite groups were still loosely made. The New Deal was seen mainly as a rule of pressure groups and interest blocs, which were not united even after the balancing acts performed by Roosevelt.
The post-war period of the 40s and 50s brought new understanding of power elite developed mainly by Mills. According to his theory, power elite was not only based on “the correspondence of the institutional hierarchies involved”, but also on “the similarity of its personnel, and their personal and official relations with one another, … their social and psychological affinities” (Mills, 269-298). Although American post-war society was more military oriented and interests of the elite were shifted to the international affairs and political defense of the country, Mills understood power elite as “uneasy coincidence of economic, military, and political power” (Mills, 269-298).
Mills’s theory is based on the three major components of power wielded by power elite. He believed that all three components were actively involved in the American society of the fifties, however his notion of power elite was based on the power of intellectuals – the so called people of knowledge. As it was mentioned previously, he distinguished between political, economic and military power which were implemented in the society according to its urgent needs and demands. According to Mills, power elite was able to fit to the current tendencies of the American society:
It should not be said that the three ‘take turns’ in carrying the initiative, for the mechanics of the power elite are not often as deliberate as that would imply. At times, of course, it is — as when ‘political men’ thinking they can borrow the prestige of generals, find that they must pay for it, or, as when during big slumps, economic men feel the need of a politician at once safe and possessing vote appeal (Mills, 269-298).
Mills thought that the power of middle and working classes were unable to resist the decision-making power of elite, and thus remained politically impotent. His pessimism about the new middle class – the so called white collar workers – was based on the development of the mass society which was typical of lack of consciousness, mainly political one. Mills stated that the power elite is responsible for leading the masses to the better society as they determine main social values and make decisions that influence all areas of American life. He believed that “In each of these institutional areas, the means of power at the disposal of decision makers have increased enormously… As each of these domains becomes enlarged and centralized, the consequences of its activities become greater, and its traffic with the others increases.” According …