ABSTRACT
Elite theorists are concerned only with the distribution of power in society, with the distinction between rulers and ruled. Elite theorists are mainly anti-Marxist, and two of the classical theorists, Gaetano Mosca and Vilfredo Pareto, set out specifically to disprove Marxs theories of economic determinism and the class struggle. Pareto and Mosca were contemporaries and rivals; they differed on the constitution of the elite, the reasons for its existence, and the manner of its recruitment or regeneration. The relationship between the elite or ruling class and the rest of society is measured in terms of authority and elite recruitment and varies according to two pairs of variables. Wright Mills argues that the American elite are embedded in the structures of society and that power is therefore institutionalised. The strongest challenge to elite theory was identified by Robert A. Dahl, one of the leading proponents of pluralist theory. Totalitarianism and democracy offer descriptions and explanations only for particular societies.
