Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights:#1 The people are not sovereign. In fact, a recent study showed that public opinion has virtually no impact on law-making in the United States. All social change has been driven by elites rather than the people.#2 Top-down change is defined as the result of tight minority organization versus the disorganized masses. Elites use their considerable influence and resources to manufacture consent and give the appearance of popular support for elite projects.#3 The book will begin by introducing the core tenets of the elite theorists, Gaetano Mosca, Vilfredo Pareto, and Robert Michels. It will then add crucial insights from two other important political theorists, Carl Schmitt and Bertrand de Jouvenel.#4 Power in human societies functions according to certain immutable laws, and these laws are not suddenly suspended in the liberal, socialist, or fascist society.