ABSTRACT
Karl Marx was a social and political theorist whose work has probably been more important outside than inside academia. His work has created the foundations of political ideologies that have been most influential in twentieth-century world history. He formulated ideas about class struggle and revolution that constituted the foundation on which the former Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China and their satellite states were based. Marx's analysis of social inequality has given rise to numerous studies on power elites in all sorts of domains. Charles Wright Mills was one of the most prominent sociologists to study power elites in the United States military and politics. Contrary to the old-time generals, who were good at handling weapons, riding horses and improvisations when in trouble, the top military experienced the Cold War and later became experts in planning, logistics and particularly policy making.
