When I first read “The Power Elite” by C. Wright Mills, I saw the title and immediately approached it with caution. I'm a natural skeptic and the title conjured up images of hippies walking around talking about the Illuminati man. However, as I read Article 56, Chapter 13 of Understanding Society: An Introductory Reader, I was struck by Mills' rational approach to a complex and controversial topic. Particularly effective is his systematic approach in breaking down his thesis into observable facts and logical ideas. “The Power Elite” begins by defining who or what a power elite is. Mills then examines the crucial areas they dominate as well as the system in place to sustain and propagate their influence. It concludes by examining the situations that led to the creation of ruling elites, how institutions contribute to their formation, and the historical context of the ever-increasing concentration of power that made this status possible. As I read this article many passages and ideas seemed to jump out at me. The first is when Mills tries to define who the ruling elites are and how they perceive themselves. Mills defines the ruling elite quite broadly: “They run the big corporations, they run the state machinery…they run the military establishment” (Anderson et al. Page 465). However, it is what Mills says next that struck me as particularly poignant. He explains that ruling elites don't actually see themselves as particularly powerful. Instead he says that they “are uncertain about their roles” and that “no matter how great their actual power is, they tend to be less aware of it than of others' resistance to its use” (Anderson et al. Page 465). I find it funny and a bit... middle of paper......attitude of high level politicians, which is still incredibly disproportionate to the amount of influence they have, most of the ruling elite are unknown to the outside the world circles of their colleagues and those who know their respective fields. Essentially, the ruling elites have had such an influence on pop culture, and their celebrity-related distractions are so effective, that the general population no longer cares about the huge decisions and possible consequences that are made for them on a daily basis. We often wonder how much more Fahrenheit 451 our society can get. References: Andersen, Margaret et al, comp.Understanding Society: An Introductory Reader. 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2011. 464-468. Print.Kendall, Diana. Sociology in our times. 8th ed. Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 2010. 166-179. Press.