While some have economic .
power, others have military, religious, political or association- based .
powers. Pluralists in general also reject the elitists" basic premise that .
there is a power structure in every human institution reflecting the .
organization's stratification. Such categorical assumptions about the .
community power cannot be made at all and it is doubtful whether, .
fundamentally, anyone dominates in a community. The question then is .
not " Who runs this community?" but " Does anyone run this .
community?" Elitists also assume that their power structure stays stable .
over time. There is some sort of longitudinal stability in that the same .
people hold the power over time. The pluralists, however, argue that .
particularly where power is specifically linked to issues, it tends to be only .
momentary or, at best, semi- permanent. In addition, there is a distinction .
between reputed and actual power that the elitists ignore. A panel of .
judges may view one particular person as being especially powerful. .
Whether this person actually exercises their influence, however, is another .
question. While elitists might presume that the members of their power .
elite are in fact involved in running the community, they may not be. .
Thus pluralists feel that theirs is far more a " scientific" approach, based .
not on mere speculation, but on visible and specific empirical facts. .
William Domhoff argued that in the United States, power is no .
longer vested in the people, but rather, in a select group of upper class .
individuals, or, the "power elite". We like to think of the United States as .
a democracy, where power is vested in the people. But does power truly .
belong to the general population? Or does it belong to an elite group of .
individuals, namely, leaders of large corporations. In William Domhoff's .
view, a power elite exists in the United States. This group is made up of .
the nation's corporate community- along with those who have vested .
