Chapter 19 Overview Many Americans today seem resigned to the rule of elite democracy. The forces of elite democracy will clearly be powerful in the democratic debate of the future. This is particularly true with respect to the political economy, where corporate elites continue to enjoy and exploit their privileged position.
Political elites seem almost as powerful.
Closely connected to economic elites through campaign contributions and lobbying, they have found numerous ways to insulate themselves from democratic accountability. All parts of the national government, from Congress to the courts, are to some degree removed from popular democratic values. The policy process itself tends to reflect the existing unequal distribution of power. Periodically, however, popular democratic mobilizations challenge their power. Elites often make big mistakes which ordinary citizens usually pay for.