Pluralist Model vs Elite Model of Social Development and Power

Pluralist- unlike Marxist, does not only consider economic class interest as determine force of other social relations, but suggests the social relations can be determined not only by economic force, but also by gender, religious, race and ethic group and so on.

Political is of the views as dispersed among the social groups, as long as politicians are open to multi-influence, it is possible to have democracy. The government is not only an instrument for the interest of bourgeoisie, but is a neutral and effective autonomy.

Therefore, the activist groups represent different social groups have channel to promote their own interest to the government, there is channel available to voice their concerns.

Empirical Evidence for Pluralist Model:-

• capital has had to accommodate the countervailing power of organized labour in the workplace


• The economy is increasingly political regulated, as the state plays a more interventionist through nationalization, such as water, electricity


• Owners of capital have become fragmented with the rise of joint stock companies and large corporations, and with diversified shareholding rather than concentrated ownership


• The increased scale and size of economic enterprises has required the expansion of managerial control of companies
  

Criticism for Pluralism

There are always certain institutions or individuals who are more powerful than others, which causes inequality in power relation. Particular interest groups, such as big business, multinational corporations, occupy positions of great influence and are therefore able to exercise more political muscle than others in order to influence government policy making.

Power Structure

Micael Mann: points out that there are four sources of power: Ideological, economic, military and political. While Marxists think Economic power determines the rest, Manne suggests all four types of power are playing important roles.

In modern society, there is observation that power structure changing to power networks:

Michel Foucault- Knowledge is power. "Micro-physics of power" refers to systemically exercised in everyday life on the part of all kinds of "expert" (parents, teachers, social workers, doctor, lawyers etc.)

There must be willing compliance so that people believer themselves to be making their own decision and reaching own conclusion rationally and according to the "truth"

Elite Moder- an analysis of politics that views power as concentrated among the rich, it is closely tied to social-conflict paradigm. It rejects the Pluralist assertion that various centers of power serve as checks and balances on one another.

C.W. Mill 1956 argued that the upper class holds the bulk of society's wealth, prestige and power. The elites control the economic, government and political power, and by inter-marriage, kinship and business dealings, they are able to turn national agenda towards their own interest.

Which model, do you think, can well explain the Singapore political and government system?

Globalization

The global trade increased from 380 millions US$ in 1950's to 5.89 Trillions US$ in 1997, a 1,500% increase. Marx had foreseen the global expansion of single industry or trade., companies like Nike, Coca Cola all have global presence.

The advantage of Globalization:

- less expensive goods,
- improvement of living conditions in some areas, including the less developed area.

Social problem therein:

-Higher unemployment in counties losing manufacturing
-exploitation of workers in developing countries
-eroding ability of governments to set policies to protect national economy,
-environmental problems

In global era:

Nominally autonomous sovereign states--powers beyond the states may have no formal status, nevertheless still limit the state's capacity to act.

The meaning of citizenship is very much diluted.

The characteristics of Globalization.

- shifted borders of economic transaction
- expanded communication into global network
- fostered a new, widespread global culture
- developed new form of international governance
- created a growing awareness of shared common world problem
- fostered a growing sense of risk
- led to emergence of transnational global actors who network

Global culture- globalization which initially driven by economic forces, also brings international connections involved the flow of goods, information and people.

- Global economy, flow of good, introduced many of the same consumer goods
- Global communication, flow of information
- Global migration: flow of people

Karl Marx's Social Change Theory-Marxian Class Model

Karl Marx framework on power and social development:-

He defined the social classes by ownership of means of production. In capital society, there are mainly two classes, Bourgeoisie and Proletarian. Capitalism rests on economic class relations, and these necessarily involve exploitation and domination. The economic relations shape the other social relations in society, so that class is ultimately the most powerful and fundamental political division in society. Other divisions are conditioned by class and will not be so decisive in determining the society's political development.

The conflicts as inherent and inevitable. The logic of capitalism was to exploit workers to gain more profit, the degree of exploitation increased while the forces of production developed and, to certain time, the Proletarian would gain their class consciousness and become aware of their identity as an exploited and oppressed class.

The exploitation were in three level:
1. surplus value
2. wage level to be kept at minimum
3. working condition

The class struggles between Bourgeoisie and Proletarian finally will lead to revolution.

In the transaction period, those in the power have access to means to promote a reality that justified their exploiting actions or distracts people's action away from their oppression. Dominant ideology promotes a false consciousness were people in lower classes come to accept a belief system that prevent revolution. " The ideas of ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas".

How does ruling class keep their ruling ideas among others?

1. The ruling class denies the people 's freedom of political speech, and right to express idea, controlled by coercion


2. The ruling class controls the material resources which people need for formulating ideas and thinking,


3. The ruling class can selective encourage or discourage certain ideas, eg, religious ideas, that divert the tension from realizing their true oppressed states,


4. The ruling class actually produces ideas by supporting teachers, researchers, owing the newspapers, and other publication means to advocate their ideas in mass media
   

For Marx, the engine of social development is constant class struggles. The class position decides one's political attitude and decides one's affinity.

The empirical evidence of Marx's theory:

Concentration of wealth in any given society where tends to be a dominate value system; capitalist's business interests tends to be national interests and inequality tends to be seen as normal and inevitable.

The criticism of Marx's framework:

1. When socialist revolution occurred, it was about time to enter capitalism


2. Unlike Marx's predication, the working class in fact were enjoying wage increase and better living conditions


3. Many socialism states and nations later collapsed, changed from socialism to capitalism

In the view of State, there are following model for explanation:-

Instrumentalist Marxist Models
The state is an instrument for bourgeoisie class, it is not the Parliament and government, but capitalists who really own the source of power through the owning of properties and mode of production. Even if capitalists didn't rule directly, the economic power they had can dictate the mass media in religious and military, in order to protect their interests.

Though facing the challenge on economic redistribution on social welfare and labour movement, the instrumentalist argued that those were insignificant to threaten capitalist class interests but to run capitalism efficiently.

Class reproduction (how to maintain the capitalist class exclusive):-

- intermarriage and kinship connection within bourgeois.
- interconnected economic interests such as interlocking directorships, where individuals are directors for more than one company
- exclusive education background, such as Oxford, Cambridge, or Ivy League college in the States
- cross-sphere contacts and linkages, where individuals occupy and shuttle between elite position in various spheres

Structuralists Marxist Model:-

In this model, the individual has little control over the whole capitalism structure. The corporate has a "Monster" responsibility. It is possible for the person with working class background to rise up to the top government post, but still to serve capitalist interests.

Gramscian Marxist Model:-

This model thinks that within bourgeoisie class, there can be conflicts in different levels, called power blocs, social changes and regrouping is possible through the power blocs struggles. A power bloc is "an alignment of social groups, generally under the dominance of one of them, which is able to monopolize the levels of political power in a society over a sustained period".

Power blocs are always face challenge from potential new candidate, force political concession to make, shifting of power balancing within power blocs. It is necessary for current power blocs to give Hegemony,"refers to consent or acceptance of an ideology, regime or whole social system.".

Under this model, the state has relative autonomy and does not always serve capitalists' interest. The political progress is the result of power struggles between power blocs. This model also suggests that there is a necessary separation between economic power and the formation of political programmes through the states.