“By the power elite, we refer to those political, economic, and military circles which as an intricate set of overlapping cliques share decisions having at least national consequences. In so far as national events are decided, the power elite are those who decide them.” PoliticalDecisionPowerShareEconomicMilitaryEventsConsequenceDecidedCirclesElitesIntricateCliqueOverlapping Book:The Power Elite Source: The Power Elite
“What I am asserting is that in this particular epoch a conjunction of historical circumstances has led to the rise of an elite of power; that the men of the circles composing this elite, severally and collectively, now make such key decisions as are made; and that, given the enlargement and the centralization of the means of power now available, the decisions that they make and fail to make carry more consequences for more people than has ever been the case in the world history of mankind” PeopleMenWorldMeanMadeGivenDecisionCasesFailingMankindParticularHe ManKeysCircumstancesConsequenceHistoricalAvailableCirclesElitesWorld HistoryComposingEpochConjunctionsCentralizationEnlargement Book:The Power Elite Source: The Power Elite
“What one side considers a defense the other considers a threat. In the vortex of the struggle, each is trapped by his own fearful outlook and by his fear of the other; each moves and is moved within a circle both vicious and lethal.” MovingSidesStruggleMovedThreatDefenseCirclesFearfulTrappedViciousOutlookVortex Author:C. Wright Mills
“A society that is in its higher circles and middle levels widely believed to be a network of smart rackets does not produce men with an inner moral sense; a society that is merely expedient does not produce men of conscience. A society that narrows the meaning of 'success' to the big money and in its terms condemns failure as the chief vice, raising money to the plane of absolute value, will produce the sharp operator and the shady deal. Blessed are the cynical, for only they have what it takes to succeed.” MenDoeBigsValuesTermLevelsDealsMoralMiddleProduceHigherSucceedSmartConscienceAbsolutesBlessedVicesCirclesChiefsPlanesCynicalRacketShadyOperatorsRaising Money Author:C. Wright Mills
