Freedom, Society, and State - Ludwig von Mises Institute

One must admit that it is an accurate description
o f d i c tat 0 r s hip s.. I nth e Sovie t Un 1 on t he Comm un i s t
Party monopolizes control of the government and through
it the entIre society. It is the sole political party;
no 0 the r s are per mit ted toexis t . Adm iss ion tot he
party is rigidly controlled with party membership kept
to about five percent of the general population. Within
the party power is concentrated in the hands of a
very small group known as the Politburo. Since the
Pol i tburo determines its own membership, it is a selfper
pet u a tin g 0 I i gar.c h y • I tis c I ear t hat pa r t y members,
and in particular party officials, monopolize
power. Not surprisingly, this group also "enjoys the
benefits that power brings." Officially, wealth is
distributed fairly evenly. But this is quite misleadi
n g b e c a use 0 f the hug e econ om i cand soc i a I ben e fits
that accrue to party membership. Because of these
benefIts, there is a waiting list for admission to the
party.
Large, centralized dictatorships such as the
So vie tUn ion fit the a n arc his t 's ca s t e ana I ysis: a
smal I, distinct ruling group monopolizes power and uses
that power for its own benefit. But what of democracies
such as the United States? Isn't it precisely
bee a use d e moe raeyin t rod ucescom pet i t ion and t h us the
eve r - pre sen t po s sibiii ty 0 f r emova I from 0 f f ice, t ha t
the rulers neither [1] constitute a ruling caste nor
[2] are able to use their power to their own advantage?
Is there a rUling caste in the United States? Although
space precludes a full-scale historical investigation,
the evidence is at least very suggestive.
While more open than in the Soviet Union, acquiring
elite positions in the United States can hardly be
said to be equally accessible to all. Political scientists
Kenneth Prewitt and Alan Stone among others have
concluded that the wealthiest twenty percent of the
fami I ies in this country supply about ninety percent of
the elite. Of the remaining ten percent about nine
percent are drawn (rom families in the second twenty
percent, with the remaining one percent scattered among
the bottom sixty percent.(49) This is shown in FIg. 3.
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