Power Elite - 1
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the concepts of labeling theory, deviance, and power elite, using the Salem Witch Trials as an example. It discusses who has the authority to define deviance and enforce these labels, and how social control has evolved over time. The video also delves into Mills' theory of the power elite, highlighting the interplay between corporate, military, and political elites, and how they often collude for mutual benefit. It contrasts this with celebrities and politicians who can evade legal consequences due to their fame or wealth, emphasizing the disparity in power and influence.
Takeaways
- 🏷️ Deviance is defined as a violation of established norms, which can be social, cultural, or legal.
- 🌐 Social control is practiced by all societies to maintain order and is enforced through sanctions, both positive (rewards) and negative (punishments).
- 🕵️♂️ The power elite theory suggests that a small group of individuals from the corporate, military, and political sectors hold significant influence over society.
- 💼 Corporate Elites, Military Elites, and Political Elites often collaborate for mutual benefit, exemplified by unnecessary military purchases for job creation or raises.
- 💵 The power elite is not solely political; it is characterized by wealth and influence, often transcending party lines.
- 🚫 Celebrities and influential individuals can sometimes avoid legal repercussions for their actions due to their status, highlighting the power elite's privileges.
- 🛑 Protest movements like Black Lives Matter are not considered power elite because they do not use vast financial resources to influence laws.
- 👥 The power elite is a small, select group of people who can have a disproportionate impact on society, often unrepresentative of the general population.
- 📉 Over-purchased military equipment, like tanks rusting unused, is a modern example of power elite influence and the waste it can cause.
- 🏛️ Politicians are not automatically part of the power elite; being in the majority in political bodies does not equate to being a power elite member.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the video?
-The video primarily discusses the concepts of labeling theory, deviance, power elite, and uses the Salem Witch Trials as an example to illustrate these concepts.
What is deviance according to the video?
-Deviance is defined as a violation of established contextual cultural or social norms, which can include folkways, mores, or codified law.
How does society practice social control?
-Society practices social control through the regulation and enforcement of norms, which is necessary to maintain social order.
What are sanctions as mentioned in the video?
-Sanctions are the means of enforcing rules and can be either positive, such as rewards for conforming to norms, or negative, such as punishments for violating norms.
Who typically decides what is considered deviant?
-The decision of what is considered deviant is typically made by those in positions of power, such as employers, political figures, or other influential individuals.
What is the power elite theory according to Mills?
-Mills' power elite theory examines the interrelationship between the corporate elite, military elite, and political elite, who often coordinate to maintain and increase their wealth and power.
How does the power elite theory relate to the Salem Witch Trials?
-While the video does not directly relate the power elite theory to the Salem Witch Trials, one could infer that the trials could be seen as an example of power dynamics where certain groups had the authority to label others as deviant.
What is the role of money in the power elite, as discussed in the video?
-Money plays a significant role in the power elite, as it is often used to influence outcomes and decisions, particularly when it comes to wealthy or famous individuals.
Why are celebrities sometimes considered part of the power elite?
-Celebrities can be considered part of the power elite due to their fame and wealth, which can grant them influence and potentially different treatment under the law compared to the general population.
How does the video differentiate between the power elite and political parties?
-The video clarifies that being part of a political party or holding a majority in a political body does not automatically make one part of the power elite; the power elite is typically a small group of individuals with significant influence.
What is the significance of the number of people in the power elite?
-The power elite is characterized by being a small group of individuals who wield a disproportionate amount of power and influence over larger populations.
Outlines
🏛️ Social Control and Deviance
The video begins by discussing the concept of deviance, which is defined as a violation of established social norms, whether they are folkways, mores, or codified law. The speaker explains that all societies practice social control to maintain social order, which varies across cultures, regions, and time. The video also touches on sanctions, which are the means of enforcing rules and can be either positive (rewards for conforming) or negative (punishments for violating norms). The speaker emphasizes that the power to enforce these norms lies with certain individuals or groups, such as employers, mayors, city councils, and state representatives.
💼 The Power Elite Theory
In this section, the speaker delves into C. Wright Mills' theory of the power elite, which examines the interplay between the corporate, military, and political elites. Mills' theory suggests that these groups often work together to maintain and increase their power and wealth, even when it's not in the public interest. The speaker provides examples of military equipment over-purchases driven by political and corporate interests. Additionally, the video discusses how celebrities and powerful politicians can sometimes avoid legal repercussions for their actions due to their status, illustrating the power elite's influence over the legal system. The speaker clarifies that the power elite is not synonymous with political parties or movements but is often characterized by the use of money to sway outcomes.
🌟 The Influence of Celebrities and the Power Elite
The final paragraph focuses on the role of celebrities within the power elite and how their fame and wealth can grant them significant influence over society. The speaker notes that celebrities, although a small part of the population, can wield considerable power compared to ordinary citizens. They can sometimes avoid legal consequences for their actions, which is a stark contrast to the majority of the population. The speaker also distinguishes between the power elite and political majorities, emphasizing that being in the majority does not equate to being part of the power elite. The power elite typically consists of a small group of individuals who can influence vast amounts of resources and decisions.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Deviance
💡Social Control
💡Sanctions
💡Power Elite
💡Corporations
💡Military Elite
💡Political Elite
💡Salem Witch Trials
💡Labeling Theory
💡Social Order
💡Norms
Highlights
Discussion on labeling theory, deviance, power elite, and the Salem Witch Trials.
Deviance defined as a violation of established social norms.
Social control is practiced by all societies to maintain order.
Social norms and their enforcement change over time and across cultures.
Sanctions, both positive and negative, are used to enforce norms.
Examples of positive sanctions include rewards for conforming to norms.
Negative sanctions are punishments for violating norms, such as arrests or demotions.
Power elite theory by Mills discusses the triangle of power.
The power elite consists of corporate, military, and political elites.
Examples of power elite influence include military purchases for political gain.
Power elite theory remains relevant in modern times.
Celebrities and powerful politicians can commit crimes with little legal retribution.
Power elite is not specifically a political group but often involves money.
Protest movements are generally not considered power elite due to lack of money influence.
Politicians are not automatically part of the power elite.
Power elite typically consists of a few people with significant influence.
Celebrities are a small part of the population but can wield considerable power.
Transcripts
all right
in this video we're going to be
discussing
labeling Theory deviance
power elite
a little bit about the Salem Witch
Trials as an example of all of that so
when we think about things like that
labeling power elite uh you think about
who decides who decides what's deviant
who decides who is deviant
uh who decides and has the power
to enforce those deviant labels
those are the types of things that we're
going to be discussing
and
as I mentioned towards the end here
we will discuss the say them which
trials
but only briefly
so first deviants is from your textbook
page 174 deviance is a violation of
established contextual cultural or
social norms whether folkways mores or
codified law
foreign
all societies practice social control
the regulation and enforcement of norms
whether you talk about North Carolina
California New York Illinois
or smaller level Chicago Charlotte
the smaller type of City level societies
they all practice some type of social
control
underlying goal of social control is to
maintain social order an arrangement of
practices and behaviors on which
society's members base their daily lives
that's going to change from culture to
culture and region to region as well as
over time
so the social control and Regulation and
enforcement of norms that was in
practice in 1950 is not going to be the
same as in the 1920s or the 1850s or the
2020s
the means of enforcing rules are known
as sanctions page 177 of your book notes
that sanctions can be positive as well
as negative
example positive sanctions are rewards
given for conforming to Norms
a promotion at work is a positive
sanction for working hard
a raise at work is a positive sanction
maybe for working hard or being at the
company for a while
in contrast to negative sanctions our
punishments for violating norms
being arrested is a punishment for
shoplifting
if you're at work being fired or a
demotion would be a negative sanction
for poor work
who decides or to talk about employers
they'll be the boss or
regional manager that sort of thing
at the city level you're thinking about
the mayor city council state level if
you've got State Senate State House
Representatives the governor those type
of things who decides
well your book when thinking about who
decides also discusses
the power elite
so
what does that mean well according to
Mills Theory
uh the power elite
looks at the
triangle of power between three specific
groups he was looking at the 1940s and
1950s especially after the end of World
War II when he was discussing this but a
lot of his power elite theory appears to
still be
uh relevant in modern times
when he was looking at it he was looking
specifically at the relationship between
corporate Elite
military Elite and the political Elite
and what he found was
uh
like for Cold War Era military purchases
uh the military would say hey we
actually don't need that stuff
and the politicians would
say well we need to build more tanks or
jet fighters to bring jobs to my State
uh because it's an election year
and so the politicians would work with
the corporate Elite to coordinate large
purchases of military stuff
and then
the military Elites were like well we
don't really need that stuff the
politicians would say well would you
like a raise military Elite would say
yes we'd love a raise
and
so they'd sign off on Military
equipment that they don't need
in modern times if you hear about
ah
tanks over the past couple decades that
are rusting at military bases because
they go unused due to over purchase
or other similar equipment
that's again an example of this power
elite idea where the politicians and
in general the military Elites as well
and the corporate Elite coordinate
usually to help make each other wealthy
okay
your book when it's discussing power
Elites also has examples of celebrities
or
powerful politicians other people who
may be famous
who can commit crimes
and suffer that or no legal retribution
so whether they're uh current or former
politician current or former CEO
they could say yes I did that crime
but I'm famous I can't go to jail
and so they can get different
punishments maybe they do community
service they get busted for drugs like
do community service instead of going to
jail as most people
would if they committed the same crime
that's another example of the power
elite where you can commit crimes
but suffer little or no legal
retribution when compared to the
majority of citizens
ah before I get to this one more thing
about power elite
power Elites is not specifically a
political group
uh Power Elites does not specifically
mean Democrats or Republicans or
some type of even political movement
power elite
uh one of the key components is money
an overwhelming majority of time there's
some aspect of money being used to
accomplish or influence the outcome
either because the person is wealthy or
famous and so the their wealth also
influences decisions
or there's some type of business deal
going on so for example
uh
uh currently
uh like some people discuss movements
like black lives matter
that is not an example for power elite
because they're not using overwhelming
amounts of money to try and create new
laws they may protest or
um
you know have campaigns but the money
primarily absent in addition
ah
you know
groups like that
more likely to be arrested for
protesting
if you're actually a member of the power
elite you're not going to go to jail
so
ah
just keep that in mind
politicians themselves are not
specifically members of the power leads
either
uh
so uh the
United States House of Representatives
uh currently has a majority
of Republicans
and in years past the majority has been
Democrats and that's gone back and forth
being in the majority is not an example
of the power elite okay uh Power Elites
usually is only a few people
so if you had 12 people in the House of
Representatives who could pass laws and
do whatever they wanted because of their
influence
those 10 or 12 people might be
considered power Elites possibly but
just having a majority in
a
political body does not automatically
make
uh that group the power elite power
Elites is normally only a few people
just another reason like protest
movements usually not considered power
elite examples because it's usually only
a handful of people like when you're
talking about corporate Elites and
Military Elite or political Elite
those three groups together might be 30
people
who are influencing billions of dollars
and how it's spent the United States
so
that's something else to keep in mind
key part of power elite only a few
people usually
celebrities and general celebrities are
not a huge part of the population so
again they're a small group but they
have an outside amount of power when
compared to normal people
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