Page 25 - Contemporary Political Sociology Globalization Politics and Power

Changing Definitions of Politics and Power 11

the rule of the people than the rule of an elite which combines exceptional
leaders and bureaucratic experts.
Political sociologists have been inspired by Weber ’ s view of liberal
democratic politics. Elite theorists tend to see democracy as working along
the lines proposed by Weber (Marsh, 1995 : 285) and, although the history
of its intellectual development has not been thoroughly traced, there are

affinities between pluralist theories and Weber ’ s view that there are many
sources of power, not just the economy, and that elites do not rule
supreme but can be challenged by organized groups in the political process
(Held, 1987 : 187). However, it may be that Weber ’ s view of power and
politics is problematic in terms of his own sociological theory. Despite his
belief in democracy as a way of mitigating the power of bureaucracy,
Weber was generally pessimistic, seeing the “ polar night of icy darkness ”
in which individual freedom is highly constrained by impersonal admin-
istration as a likely outcome of the development of modern societies
(Weber, 1948a : 128). But this pessimism is linked to his view that the
majority of the population is uninterested in, and ignorant of, political
matters. There are undoubtedly long - term trends towards lack of interest
in and apathy concerning party political matters; the proportion of the
population in Western liberal democracies who use their vote is in steady
decline. On the other hand, if politics is defined more widely, we may see

individuals as much more actively engaged in re - making social relations
than he was able to discern from within the terms of the political sociol-
ogy he founded.

E lite t heorists
Elite theorists are concerned with the question of how and why it is that
a minority must always rule over a majority, which they see as inevitable
in any society. Political elite theorists are, above all, concerned with the
decision - makers in society, those they see as holding power as a cohesive,
relatively self - conscious group (Parry, 1969 : 134). Modern elite theorists

have been extremely influential in political sociology. Joseph Schumpeter,
in particular, has been an important figure as a popularizer of Roberto

Michels ’ s ideas on political parties and Weber ’ s theory of democracy. He

influenced the generation of sociologists and political scientists involved
in the professionalization of the discipline in the 1950s, especially in the
US. According to Bottomore ( 1993 : 28), so great was this infl uence that,
for some time afterwards, political scientists in particular took electoral
politics and voting behavior as the only worthwhile topic of study, to the
exclusion of the substance of political confl icts.