Power Of Elites Essay

The Power of the Elites in US
America prides itself on being a democracy when in fact, these ideals are only a political illusion. The Constitution of the United States deems the nation a republic, thus regarding the people’s desire to be a democracy, yet there is much evidence that suggests America is an oligarchy. While a republic’s citizens elect many representatives to make governmental decisions on their behalf, an oligarchic country is controlled by a small group of elites. The idea of America being an oligarchy assumes that elites have the power in many aspects of government, such as the election process and the Electoral College, in Congress, and federal judges in the Supreme Court. The Constitution creates a political illusion of democracy that gives the impression of the people having power in the many aspects of government when, in reality, the elites dominate the Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary branches of government, creating an oligarchy.
The elites govern the Legislative branch through the Electoral College and Congress. First, the Electoral College is composed mostly of elite Congress members, who run the Legislative branch (Soni 2012).

In the Legislative branch, Congress is composed of elites that have the power to elect the President and create bills. In the Executive branch, the President and his cabinet are composed of wealthy elites that have the power to veto a bill, declare war, and represent the country in foreign affairs. In the Judiciary branch, the federal judges of the Supreme Court are elites with expensive ivy league degrees in their resumes, which is achieved through their wealthy backgrounds, and control over what is justified as constitutional. While America has been known as the land of the free, the elites have always had more power than common