ABSTRACT
Today the discussion on elites is clearly dominated by functionalist approaches. Although the classic positions of Pareto and Mosca, with their clear dichotomy of elite and mass, have again attracted growing attention in recent years, the functionalist view continues to define the approaches adopted by a large majority of theoretical and – especially – empirical studies. The credo here is: There are no longer any ruling classes or homogeneous elites; what we have today are competing, more or less equally powerful subelites that must be seen as open in social terms because access to them is determined mainly by individual performance, no longer by descent or social background. This, it is argued, is the reason why today the consensus among elites on which parliamentary democracy is predicated can no longer be established on the basis of social homogeneity but has to be sought by way of debate and competition among individual functional elites.
