First published in 1956, The Power Elite stands as a contemporary classic of social science andsocial criticism. C. Wright Mills captivated readers with his penetrating analysis and fiery cri-tique of the organization of power in the United States, calling attention to three firmlyinterlocked prongs of power: the military, corporate, and political elite. But while The PowerElite can be read as an accurate account of what was taking place in America at the time itwas written, its underlying question of whether America is as democratic in practice as it isin theory is every bit as significant to the culture of today.What The Power Elite informed readers of in 1956 was how much the power structure inAmerica had changed during their lifetimes, and Alan Wolfe's astute afterword to this newedition brings us up to date, illustrating how much more has changed since then. Wolfe offersprofound insight into what is still valid in Mills's book and also explores those predictionsthat have not come to bear, discussing the radical changes in American capitalism, fromintense global competition and the collapse of communism to rapid technological transfor-mations and ever-changing consumer tastes. A penetrating work that remains of great rele-vance, The Power Elite stimulates us to think about the kind of society we have and the kindof society we might want.The late C. Wright Mills, Professor of Sociology at Columbia University, was a leadingcritic of modern American civilization. Alan Wolfe is the Director of the Center forReligion and American Public Life at Boston College. He is the author or editor of morethan ten books, including Marginalized in the Middle and One Nation, After All.
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