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Idea that history is a story of class struggle, specifically within rich owners who control production, and poor workers who sell labor.

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Society is controlled by economic classes, where the wealthy exploit the working class to maintain power.

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A framework analyzing society through economic class struggle, arguing history is a conflict between the oppressed and the oppressors, primarily the owners of production and the working class. This theory predicts this conflict will lead to a proletarian revolution, overthrowing capitalism and establishing socialism and eventually communism.

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Marxist Theory states that political power is controlled by those who own the means of production, meaning the economic class dominates the government.

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Marxist theory argues that history is a story of class struggle between rich owners who control production and the poor workers who sell their labor

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The Marxist Theory, established by Karl Marx criticizes capitalism and believes that it leads to class conflicts. It argues against the exploitation of workers.

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Administrative group of nonelected officials, hired by skills and merit system, implementing policies created by other branches of government in the U.S. They collect data, manage public srvices, enforce rules, and ensure the law is applied uniformly.

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A political ideology that goes over the conflicts that lie within a capitalist society and proposes the idea of a transition to a classless communist system.

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 A system of unelected government officials who carry out laws and manage public programs.

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 A system of unelected government officials who carry out laws and manage public programs.

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Theory that a small, wealthy, and powerful elite control decisionmaking processes in society and government. Elites hold most of the political power and influence, and shape policies to benefit their own interest, rather than the population

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The Bureaucracy is the system of unelected government agencies and officials responsible for enforcing laws

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A hierarchical system of organization for large groups, characterized by a clear chain of command, specialized tasks, and strict, formal rules and procedures. A system of government that enforces laws and policies made by Congress and the President.

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Argues that history is a story of class struggle between the rich owners (bourgeoisie) who control production and the poor workers (proletariat) who sell their labor.

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Argues that history is a story of class struggle between the rich owners (bourgeoisie) who control production and the poor workers (proletariat) who sell their labor.

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Socioeconomic framework that tackles the conflict between classes, particularly the upper class or bourgeoisie and the workers or proletariats under capitalism, viewed as inherently exploitative.

Promotes a system that abolishes class and utilizes shared ownership and communism as the central mindset

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The Bureaucracy is responsible for carrying out the responsibilities of the federal government. Their responsibilities include implementing and enforcing laws, policies, and taking charge of programs like social security and TSA.

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Theory that power is distributed among many groups and interests in society. Multiple groups compete to influence policy, and no one group dominates. Power is balanced in competition, and no group has absolute control

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A theory that analyzes society through class struggle

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Bureaucracy is a system of administration for large organizations or governments, characterized by a formal structure, a clear hierarchy, fixed rules, and non elected officials who handle daily operations.

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Elitist Theory argues that the government is controlled by a small group of wealthy and powerful individuals.

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Explanation: A view that history is a story of class struggle between wealthy business owners and the working class.

Buzzwords: class struggle, owners, workers

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Hierarchy

Regulatory

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The Marxist theory argues that history is made up of class struggles between the rich owning and controlling production and the poor selling labor.

Buzzwords - classless, Karl Marx, communist

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A socio-economic framework viewing history as driven by class struggle, primarily between the bourgeoisie (owners of production) and the proletariat (workers)

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government agency, policy

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Pluralist Theory holds that power is distributed among many competing interest groups, not a single ruling class.

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A hierarchy system that has specialized roles, formal rules, and merit-based advancements that are designed for efficiency and also for impartially implementing public policies.

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Can the Elitist Theory and Pluralist Theories both be correct?

Can the Marxist Theory and Bureaucracy also both be correct?

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A system for managing large organizations (like governments or big companies) using a hierarchy, fixed rules, and specialized officials to get things done efficiently. 

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A system for managing large organizations (like governments or big companies) using a hierarchy, fixed rules, and specialized officials to get things done efficiently. 

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Buzz words:

Hierarchy: a system or orgnaization where people or groups are ranked one above another according to status or authority

Administration: the management, direction, or running of an organization

Chain of command: a system by which instructions are passed from one person to another

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In any society, power is concentrated in a small, wealthy, and influential group (the elite) who govern and shape policies to benefit themselves. Regular citizens have little influence over the decisions made in the country even if the government is a democracy.

Buzz Words: Elite, Wealth, Upper Class, Inequality, Ruling Class

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These theories made me realise that democracy isn’t just about voting. I believe the U.S. reflects both pluralist and elitist ideas- many groups participate, but wealth still creates unequal influence. This raises questions about whether political power is truly accessible to everyone.

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The marxist theory argues that history is driven by class struggles. Between the owners of production and the workers. This leads to worker exploitation, inability to establish new class systems, and alienation.

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Social class, power

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Small ruling elite

Power concentrated in few hands

Influence of wealthy people

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A small group of wealthy and powerful people make most political decisions.

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political power is dispersed among numerous competing interest groups, not concentrated in a single elite, with various factions (like unions, corporations, environmentalists)

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Definition: a highly structured, rational, and efficient system for organizing complex tasks through a hierarchy, division of labor, formal rules, impersonality, and merit-based selection, aiming for consistency and fairness in large organizations but risking impersonal control.

Explanation: Organizations as structured systems with clear hierarchies, specializations, formal rules, and merit-based selection.

Buzzwords: hierarchy, rules, specialization.

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Extreme

Privileged

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Where do middle classes play into Marxist theory?

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Elitist theory posits that power in society is concentrated in the hands of a small, privileged group (the elite) who make major decisions, irrespective of the general population's wishes.

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A hierarchical organizational system for managing large institutions (like governments or corporations) through specialized departments, a clear chain of command, and strict adherence to rules and procedures by non-elected officials, aiming for impersonal efficiency but often criticized for red tape and slow processes.

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Says that most decisions are made by a few wealthy or influential people, not the general public. 

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Says that most decisions are made by a few wealthy or influential people, not the general public. 

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Power is shared among many competing groups that influence government decisions.

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Is a small, powerful, and wealthy group known as the “Elite” that holds a disproportionate amount of power over policies and decisions, regardless of democratic structures, primarily benefitting themselves rather than representing the broad public interest.

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Power in society is concentrated in a small, privileged group (elites) who control major institutions, shaping policy and outcomes to benefit themselves rather than being a representative of the general populace

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Marxism theory isn't governed by a person but by economic forces and class struggle, specifically the conflict between the bourgeoisie (owners) and the proletariat (workers), driven by the economic base (how things are produced) which shapes society's political and social structures

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A system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than elected representatives.

A system to manage large organizations by using  hierarchy, rules, and specialized officials.

Buzzwords - hierarchy, rigid, administration

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Definition: posits that society is ruled by a small, powerful group (the elite) who hold disproportionate influence over political, economic, and social decisions, often from similar privileged backgrounds, contrasting with democratic ideals of widespread power distribution and suggesting governance flows top-down from these elites.

Explanation: Organizations as structured systems with clear hierarchies, specializations, formal rules, and merit-based selection.

Buzzwords: hierarchy, rules, specialization.

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argues that history is a story of class struggle between the rich owners (bourgeoisie) who control production and the poor workers (proletariat) who sell their labor

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The Marxist theory is the idea that Capitalism is exploitative on the people within that society, and the solution to this is a classless society in which there is no middle, low or upper class.

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A society is ruled by a small, powerful group (the elite) who hold disproportionate influence over political, economic, and social decisions, often from similar privileged backgrounds, contrasting with democratic ideals of widespread power distribution and suggesting governance flows top-down from these elites

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The pluralist theory of the government is the view that power is  dispersed among many diverse, competing groups and interests in society, rather than being concentrated in the hands of a single elite

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Politics is defined as a healthy competition. The groups in a democracy advocate for their interests, ensuring broader representation.

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Buzz Words: Interest Groups, Competition, Shared Power

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What surprised me most is how much power unelected groups like elites and bureaucrats can have compared to voters. I used to think elections were the main source of power, but these theories show that money, expertise, and influence often matter more. While pluralism sounds ideal, elitist and Marxist theories feel more realistic today, which makes me question how democratic our system truly is.

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That no single group controls everything. Instead, different groups compete and work together to influence decisions

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That no single group controls everything. Instead, different groups compete and work together to influence decisions

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Society is ruled by a small, powerful group (the elite) who hold disproportionate influence over political, economic, and social decisions, often from similar privileged backgrounds, contrasting with democratic ideals of widespread power distribution and suggesting governance flows top-down from these elites.

The ideal/belief that certain things are only for a few special “elite” people.

Buzzwords - top-down, elitism, concentrated power

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Definition: Pluralist theory is the view that political power in society is distributed among many competing interest groups rather than being concentrated in the hands of a single elite.

Explanation: The power in society is shared by many different groups. These groups compete with each other to influence the government, so no single group has complete control. Helps keep things democratic.

Buzzwords: democracy, power competition, and participation

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A Theory that argues political power isn’t held by a single group of elites, but rather is distributed among many competing interest groups such as unions, businesses, environmentalists, etc.

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Buzz words:

Distributed power: power isn't held by a few, but spread across numerous organized groups with varied resources and influence

Grassroots formation: groups form organically from citizens with shared goals

Brokerage: elected officials act as brokers that navigate demands from multiple groups

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A bureaucracy is a system of government where the state officials make most of the decisions rather than elected officials. Examples of this are the military, as the officials within the military who are higher in rank make the decisions rather than elected officials.

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Posits that political power is dispersed among many competing interest groups, not concentrated in a single elite, with public policy emerging from their bargaining, lobbying, and compromises

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a structured system of administration, typically in government, staffed by non-elected officials (civil servants) who implement laws and policies through a hierarchy of rules, specialization, and defined procedures, ensuring complex organizations function efficiently, though it can be seen as slow or impersonal

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The wealthy capitalist class controls the government and society. They use their economic power to influence laws and policies that benefit them.

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According to depictions of wealth distribution in the U.S., the elite have gained the most from the current distribution of wealth. (elitist theory is very heavy in the present day).

Can the elitist and pluralist theories exist at the same time, in the same system?

If the philosophers who founded these theories had enough evidence to create them, why do they still exist even if they can harm a group?

How do these theories benefit society?

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A system of non-elected government officials who are in charge of implementing policies that are created by other government branches. This structured system is made to manage large organizations. The decisions are made by the state.

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Pluralist theory posits that political power is dispersed among numerous competing interest groups, not concentrated in a single elite, with various factions (like unions, corporations, environmentalists) influencing policy through lobbying and advocacy, leading to a more representative democracy through compromise and bargaining.

The idea that power in a democracy isn’t held by only one elite group, it is spread between several groups that push for their own policies.

Buzzwords - several, groupies, businesses

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The Elitist theory is the theory that the government is run by a group of the most powerful people or “elites” who control the aspects of society. Examples of this are government officials and business leaders.

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Marxist theory argues that society is shaped by economic inequality, where the working class is exploited by those who own businesses

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Its clear to me that Pluralist theory and Elitist theory are clear opposites and contrast on the political spectrum, but somewhat unclear to me if it was intended that marxist theory and the bureaucratic system were meant to be complete and utter opposites; its evident that a bureaucracy flows from the top down, instructions come from the top and make their way downwards through the chain of command, and then the contrast to marxism is where the proletariat class does the decision making? A classless system means no more hierarchy, and a bureaucracy is simply a big administrative hierarchy, so is that the contrast?

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posits that society is ruled by a small, powerful group (the elite) who hold disproportionate influence over political, economic, and social decisions, often from similar privileged backgrounds, contrasting with democratic ideals of widespread power distribution and suggesting governance flows top-down from these elites

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Why is political power spread among many groups? Why not just one single group, if it's multiple it would be hard to to come to a conclusion based on an action. There would be a lot of disagreeing and disagreeing. Multiple compromises at once maybe.

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Bureaucratic theory, primarily developed by sociologist Max Weber, posits that large organizations are governed by a clear hierarchy, formal rules, impersonality, and specialization, with authority residing in positions, not people, ensuring control through rational-legal systems where higher levels manage lower levels

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This theory states that history is a story with the different working classes and how the rich control productions while the poor have to work

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I believe that all of the theories presented to us are special in each of their own ways, while also containing many benefits and flaws with each. In my opinion, the theory that caught my attention the most would end up being the pluralist theory, as it was the easiest one to understand, while also being one that felt reasonable and fair for a governing body to implement in their country. I still don’t understand everything that goes into these theories, who created them, which countries implement them, but it was an interesting activity that brought a lot of new information to my knowledge that I had never heard of before.

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I’ve never heard of the pluralist theory, but now I know. I’ve heard of the bureaucracy before, but didn’t know what it meant. I wasn’t particularly interested but it’s something that I should know. The most familiar one was the Marxist Theory, since I know who Karl Marx is and because I’ve heard his name so many times.

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Capitalism

Exploitation

Class struggle

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The theory that power in a democracy is dispersed among competing interest groups. Examples of this are environmentalists, unions and lobbyists.

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A system of government where decisions are made by trained officials following strict rules and procedures. Its a structures system that helps run government agencies efficiently and fairly, with civil servants working behind the scenes to implement policies.

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a socio-economic framework viewing history as driven by class struggle, primarily between the bourgeoisie (owners of production) and the proletariat (workers)

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I was most surprised by the pluralist theory which I have never heard about before so I found it the most interesting. I want to learn more about the theory and its complications.

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Pluralist Theory is the idea that power in a society is spread among many different groups rather than held by just one elite group.

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Pluralist Theory is the idea that power in a society is spread among many different groups rather than held by just one elite group.

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Learning about these theories makes me wonder which theory best explains the society we live in right now. Marxist theory made me see how inequality affects people's lives, and elitist theory made me wonder if everyone really has a say in the government and its decisions. Pluralist theory seems more positive because it shows that different groups can share power. Bureaucracy can help get things done but they can also make things slow in my opinion. 

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Learning about these theories makes me wonder which theory best explains the society we live in right now. Marxist theory made me see how inequality affects people's lives, and elitist theory made me wonder if everyone really has a say in the government and its decisions. Pluralist theory seems more positive because it shows that different groups can share power. Bureaucracy can help get things done but they can also make things slow in my opinion. 

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Hierarchy

Rules and procedures

Efficiency

Administration

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These theories made me think about how power actually works in our society. Learning about ideas like class struggle, elites, bureaucracy, and group competition showed me that power is unfair. I didn't realize how much decisions could be shaped by people who control resources or by officials that aren't even elected. It also made me question how fair the system really is and whether everyone had the same opportunity to be heard.

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Wealth concentration

Influence

Corporate power

Political inequality

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A small and powerful group of elites hold most of the power in society. These elites, like wealthy business leaders or politicians, control decision making, often without much input from the general public.

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carry out laws and public programs for other people

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Power is spread out among many different groups in society. No one group controls everything. Instead, groups like businesses, unions, and community organizations all compete to influence government decisions

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This theory insists that power is not spread out however it is concentrated in a smaller, more privileged groups, the elites. They have power over economic, political, and social decisions. They can shape policies to suit their desires.

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Diversity

Inclusion

Power Dynamics

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Elitist theory posits that a small, wealthy and powerful elite, composed of top business leaders, military figures, and politicians (the "power elite"), governs society, making decisions that benefit themselves and maintain their control, rather than representing the broader public's interests

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Marxist theory is driven by class struggles

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I used to think that only powerful people or politicians made decisions, but now I see that many groups and interests are involved. I was surprised to learn how much influence wealthy elites can have behind the scenes. It makes me wonder if our democracy is truly fair or if the wealthy always have the upper hand.

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This theory argues that power in a democracy is not held by a single elite, but rather distributed amongst a number of interest groups. Groups may become politically active once issues arise affecting their narrow interests.

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Pluralist theory posits that no single group governs, but rather a multitude of competing interest groups (unions, businesses, environmentalists, etc.) share and contest power, influencing government policy from the "bottom-up" through lobbying and activism, creating a dynamic process of compromise and shifting influence, rather than top-down control by elites, with key figures like Robert Dahl analyzing this distributed power.

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I believe that Marxism theory would not work in a society because while the idea sounds good on paper, the way it executes long term actually still leads to exploitation of the society and leaves the only power to the people in the government or the higher ranking people. I would like to know if the pluralist theory and elitist theory have any kind of connection and how they may connect if so?

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It seems like the Elitist Theory is taking charge in our democracy today. With analyzing the wealth distribution from poor to the top 1%, the elites have the most money and therefore the most power. Can multiple system exist at the same time? If we have studied all of these theories and have seen the cons that could harm society, why do we keep making the same mistakes that cause the harm?

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Marxist theory analyzes society through class struggle, arguing that history is a conflict between the oppressed and the oppressors, primarily the owners of production and the working class.

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A bureaucracy is a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives. This means that there is a large, structured administrative system with a hierarchical chain of command, specialized roles, and formal rules and procedures in place.