Pluralism vs. Elitism in Public Policy Making - Essay Example

The elitist view of power, on the other hand states that “political power should be in the hands of a relatively small part of the general population that shares a common understanding about the fundamental issues facing society and government”3. Those who advocate the elitist view of power argue that the general public is best served when a basic consensus exists among a country’s top leaders regarding fundamental issues. “Although these leaders may disagree on minor issues, or even compete against one another for positions of authority in government, the fact that they share a common view on issues that might otherwise split the nation is regarded as an important foundation for governing”4.

With the practice of democracy in the United States as the principal basis of such claims by pluralists and elitists, is it safe to say that equality under the law is enforced in the face of political, social, and religious diversity among men, and the conflicting interests of their representatives? The Dispersal of Power among Groups Pluralism gives stress on the role of interest groups in political agendas in the United States. . They further emphasize that politics is not the central decision-making of a united public acting through the state, but the result of continuous competition, bargaining, and exchange among groups representing different interests.

Pluralists accepted Schumpeter’s broad view that what separate democracies from non-democracies are the methods by which government officials are elected. Democracy, in the United States of America, is generally regarded as synonymous to political pluralism despite the rise of scholarly notions that say otherwise. For Weber, elite domination within the state apparatus was inevitable. As Weber himself puts it, “all ideas aiming at abolishing dominance of men over men are illusory”5. The crucial feature of the state is located within its roles as the major authoritative associated within a given territory.

For the state to maintain its central position it has to claim a monopoly of the legitimate use of force. Domination, or as Weber termed it, “the authoritarian power of command” is a necessary and inevitable feature of this process. However, the concentration of both economic and political decision making in the hands of a central government bureaucracy is incompatible with democracy. Democracy requires limited government, individual freedom, and dispersal of power in society On September 17, 1787 the Constitution of the United States of America was approved and instituted the following fundamental principles: (1) standard sovereignty, or control by the people, (2) a republican government in which the people select representatives to make decisions for them, (3) limited government with written laws, separation of powers, with checks and balances among branches to prevent any one branch from gaining too much power, and