The level at which I will attempt to examine the distribution of power is my household. This setting is small, but an excellent chance to apply the aforementioned frameworks to personal experience, bringing home their ideas, and testing their value on the small levels not always considered in the class setting.

In order to examine the applicability of these frameworks, we must first have an understanding of what these frameworks assert. Following will be a concise look at each framew

I should begin with an introduction of the people I will discuss. Brian is the oldest of the group at 23, his brother Brandon, Jason, and myself are all 21, and Luke is 20. All of us come from similar homes, but are from different parts of the country. Brandon and Brian come from Oregon, Luke from Chicago, Jason from California, and myself from Arizona. We have many common interests, such as music and sports, and share generally similar ideas about what is right and wrong. We were all raised in two-parent homes, and all have a high regard for family. We all attempt to look out for each other. We are a close-nit bunch with few secrets.

The influence on group decisions is a hard thing to quantify, but can be witnessed nonetheless. It would be my assumption that age would play a big role in this area, but unlike any of the frameworks studied, seniority plays no role here. Among the five of us, Luke is by far the best student. We all repeatedly marvel at his diligence and hard work. I believe this has an empowering effect for Luke, as we all view him as a little smarter, or at least more able to handle tougher tasks. In this way, I believe Luke has a lot of power in our house because of the influence he is allowed on our decisions. We even jokingly refer to him as "Dad", because he sometimes is seen as the voice of reason, the one who knows the right way for everything. After Luke, the power of influence is distributed fairly evenly, with the eldest of the group, Brian, probably receiving the least consideration because of his tendency to exaggerate and miss the point. As in all group settings, however, there is power in numbers. If a majority of us is leaning in one direction, it is likely that the rest will follow. On that same note, those of us who are connected in some way by similar association or interest often dominate influence and power. Specifically, Brandon and Brian being brothers is important because more times than not, they will side with each other. Just as in Domhoff's Elite model, Jason and Brandon working for the same company has a binding effect for them. That gives them power in the decision-making area because of their tendency to join forces.

The amount of respect a person commands in this household is also a tough thing to quantify or measure, but it's effects are noticeable. I believe that the amount of respect one gets can be broken down into three main factors.

Some Elitists are Max Weber and William Domhoff. Domhoff's work includes an extensive look at what he calls the small "ruling class". Domhoff's ruling class is socially exclusive, comprised of powerful owners of large corporations and banks and political figures. Domhoff asserts that this ruling class has retained it's power by being socially cohesive, highly involved in the corporate world, and having policy influence. It remains socially cohesive by being part of a private education system, being members of socially exclusive clubs, through marriage, and through the work that they do. The ruling class has remained highly involved in the corporate world by interconnecting their corporations through banks, law firms, consulting firms, and by retaining the same values. An "Inner Group" of Boards of Directors is also important here, as individuals may connect corporations by sitting on multiple boards. The ruling class has asserted policy influence by developing policy organizations such as foundations for research, think tanks, policy discussion groups, and "public education" such as public service announcements, and by dominating the federal government through funding the candidate selection stage, funding the special interest process, and controlling government appointees. The main point of Domhoff's assertions is that the ruling class creates access for itself on all levels of power. Access to resources is key to the assertions of Elitists that only a few own the power in our society.

An important class

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Approximate Word count = 2918
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)