The Elites and the MassesThere are many theories relating to the nature of power in society. In modern society, it is important to identify where and when power is exercised, who benefits from it and who suffers from it. In this tradition, it is useful to examine the managerial perspective. Managerialism focuses on organizations as the basis, or unit of analysis of society, to which all other aspects of society are subordinate. These organizations use their resources to attempt to dominate each other and society. Managerialism tells us that power is concentrated among a group of elites who control organizations and use them as an instrument to obtain more power and expand their domain of control. Organizational power is increasingly the most important force explaining the direction of change in both state and society (Alford and Friedland, p. 174). Thus, elites become the most important factor that determines our society and do not serve all of society's interests, but rather attempt to manipulate the masses to serve themselves better. Max Weber's theory of bureaucracy lends itself to the notion of managerialism. He asserts that as society becomes more integrated and complex, organizational elites become more dependent on specialists and experts, or bureaucracies, to advise and influence them on decisions. Bureaucracies are groups of individuals performing specialized tasks that coalesce into a cohesive and efficient unit. Power becomes more and more centralized within bureaucracies and the elites that control them, because as they grow larger and more powerful, they use this power to gain more control over the masses. Weber viewed the historical development of societies as a movement toward rational forms of organization, that is, groups organized not on the basis of the authority of personalities and traditions, but on the basis of specific functions to fulfill or objectives to achieve (Marger, p. 72). ). Weber often used the notion of machine to illustrate what he meant by modern organizations, referring to individuals as "cogs"; who serve the machine, thus losing their identity and creativity. Although Weber admitted that mechanization and bureaucracy together created a highly efficient and productive economic system, they also worked to build a medium with common interests that unite for a common goal, while Managerialism believes that power is centralized among a small group of elites who work to gain more power and even go so far as to manipulate the masses for their own benefit. Pluralism believes that citizens dictate the appropriate policies for our government to adopt, while managerialism says that people in positions of power dictate policies to the public. Furthermore, pluralism assumes a consensus of values ​​among individuals, while managerialism sees society functioning through conflict and coercion. Bibliography Alford and Friedland, chapter seven, “State and Society in a Managerial Perspective”; in Powers of Theory, 1985, p.161-83. Martin Marger, Ch.4, “The Elite Model”; in Elites and Masses (New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1981). George Ritzer, “The Weberian Theory of Rationalization and the McDonaldization of Contemporary Society”; p 37-62 in P. Kivisto (ed.), Illuminating social like (Thousand Oaks, Pine Forge Press, 1998).C. Wright Mills, “The Power Structure in America”; in James Farganis (ed.), Ch. 11 “Conflict Theory”; Readings in Social Theory (NY: McGraw-Hill, 1996).