Everyone knows that our society has its good points and its bad points. However, there is a lot of disagreement about what's good and what's bad, and why it looks that way. Some political analysts divide all social theories into three categories:
*Pluralism, the idea that individuals and groups really share power in democracy (which I call the Conspiracy Simpleton, because I mean how simple can you be?)
*Managerialism, the idea that certain entrenched elites really run things (regardless of which party won the last election)(I call this the Power Conspiracy Theory)
*Class Theory, the idea that the upper class holds the strings (I call this the Moneybags Theory) (Alford and Friedland 1985)
For example, how would you explain the documented fact that the wealth of the parties seems to influence the outcome of U.S. court cases? (Galanter 1974) Are you a Conspriacy Simpleton, who believes that it's just because the wealthy tend to have experienced lawyers who guide them out of trouble? Are you a Power Elite Conspiracist, who believes that the government is run for the benefit of the power elite? Are you a Moneybags Conspiracist who believes that the government is stacked in favor of the wealthy?
Bibliography:
Alford, Robert R., and Roger Friedland. 1985. Powers of Theory: Capitalism, the State, and Democracy. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Galanter, Marc. 1974. "Why the 'Haves' Come Out Ahead: Speculations on the Limits of Legal Change." 9 LAW & SOCIETY REVIEW 95-160.
