The concept, structure and functions of political elites

The concept and functions of the political elite proceed from the definition itself, which represents this component of political science as a certain social group that differs from the bulk of human society. The very term began to be used since the 16th century. In France, people who belonged to the higher caste were called so and formed the so-called ruling stratum.

The functions of political elites were born at the time the concept was formed. Each such group, consisting of the best and chosen people, exercised control over some sphere of human life. The very identification of a part of society is an unequal distribution of social and natural rights between people. The functions of political elites contribute to the allocation of extraordinary abilities among members of the population, thereby contributing to their elevation. Thus, we can safely identify the ruling circles as a special social group, which, due to the high positions held on the vertical of power, has the maximum level of impact on society.

The structure and functions of the political elite have evolved in the course of various historical processes. As a result, two basic approaches to the consideration of the origin of the ruling groups were formed:

1. Structurally functional.
2. Valuable.

The first is based on the belief that the implementation of public management empowers political elites with special rights and functions. The second, in turn, explains the existence of such social groups in terms of their superiority over other representatives of society. To some extent, we can also consider that the political elite is a model of intellectual and moral merit. Unfortunately, at present the reality is that people performing the functions of political elites are corrupt and cynical. Therefore, all of the above allows us to assess the vulnerability of both approaches.

Classification of ruling groups

According to the functions assigned to the authorities, three categories are traditionally singled out: higher, medium and administrative.

The first unites all sorts of political leaders and eminent personalities who occupy a sufficiently high position in any branch of government. An example of such persons may be the president, as well as his entourage, leaders of political parties and heads of judicial and executive bodies.

The second includes all those who occupy a high position in various elective bodies. For example, governors, deputies, mayors.

The third is the most general category. This includes all members of the government, as well as some of the civil servants.

The functions of political elites are quite diverse and serve to meet social needs. In addition to the implementation of governance, the ruling group determines the political will of various social strata and regulates the processes of realizing this will, contributes to the formation of the goals of each social group, and also is the place of accumulation of leading cadres that form a kind of reserve.