ABSTRACT
The central reference point for all analyses which, whether explicitly or more implicitly, deal critically with the functionalist approach is the relationship between elites and classes. This applies for the two most prominent representatives of critical elite research, Mills with his “Power Elite” (Mills 1956 [1959]) and Bourdieu with his “Classe dominante” (Bourdieu 1979 [1984], 1989a [1996], 1993b), but also to authors such as Domhoff (1967, 1971, 1978, 1980, 1983) and Dye (1976, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1995), whose numerous studies on elites in the US are oriented to either Mills’ “Power Elite” or Marx’s concept of the ruling class, or authors like de Saint Martin (1993), who worked for many years with Bourdieu, and her study on the French aristocracy. They all seek to explain elites with reference to their position vis-à-vis the other classes and strata of society. They challenge “pluralist” elite theories wherever these show critical weaknesses.
