Sociology Essay How useful is the concept of elite' for understanding the distribution of power in either Britain or the United States? Introduction In America perhaps only race is a more sensitive subject than the way we sort ourselves out in the struggle for success. The eminent sociologist Robert Merton calls it the structure of opportunity'. In the understanding of the usefulness of the term elite', there are some common historical variables, which must be looked at in order to appreciate the power organisms at work even in American society, and how from the days of Tho...

• Word Count: 5140
• Approx Pages: 21
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate