The Power Elite

By: C. Wright Mills, Alan Wolfe - afterword

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

First published in 1956, The Power Elite stands as a contemporary classic of social science and social criticism. C. Wright Mills examines and critiques the organization of power in the United States, calling attention to three firmly interlocked prongs of power: the military, corporate, and political elite. The Power Elite can be enjoyed as a good account of what was taking place in America at the time it was written, but its underlying question of whether America is as democratic in practice as it is in theory continues to matter very much today.

What The Power Elite informed readers of in 1956 was how much the organization of power in America had changed during their lifetimes, and Alan Wolfe's astute afterword to this new edition brings us up to date, illustrating how much more has changed since then. Wolfe sorts out what is helpful in Mills' book and which of his predictions have not come to bear, laying out the radical changes in American capitalism, from intense global competition and the collapse of communism to rapid technological transformations and ever changing consumer tastes. The Power Elite has stimulated generations of readers to think about the kind of society they have and the kind of society they might want, and deserves to be enjoyed by every new generation.

(P)2019 Tantor

The afterword written in the late 90s is as useless as the main work is important.

C. Wright Mills' work is an important read. The afterword has been proved to be useless in the following 24 years since it was written.

C. Wright Mills does great, afterword is lacking

Great and profound insight. The afterword served little purpose in my opinion. I always find it frustrating when an old book receives a new afterword disputing the claims of dead men

Must read, skip afterword

Must read for anyone interested in the US and its structures of power. Only negative is the Afterword is extremely dated, and really doesn't do justice to the original work and its importance.

Should be required reading for all

This is like reading a high-level synthesis of Bernays, Gustave Le Bon, Joost Meerloo, Jacques Ellul, Orwell, Huxley, Bertrand Russell, and other formulators and philosophers of mass psychology, propaganda, and social engineering. Mills reveals the coordinated hands behind the misdirection and chaos used to manipulate the masses and transform individuals into automatons.

Welcome to the Reality Under Your Nose

I recommend reading "Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon" by David McGowan along with this early expose of the rule by iron fist of what is now referred to as "the one percent." Your little pop music heroes and movie actors are all scions of elite families. But hey, believe in the dream! Anybody can be anything they want in this country. You just have to get in a real long line first. A "bloodline," at that!