Fahrenheit 9/11’s Power Elite Theory

Fahrenheit 9/11’s Power Elite Theory

On June 25, 2004, Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Michael Moore, released a controversial film, Fahrenheit 9/11, to the nation, that examined the actions of the Bush Administration in the time period following the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001. The film was protested by the nation’s conservatives and thought to be rather comical to the nation’s liberals due to the way that Moore portrayed President George W. Bush and the rest of the Republican Party. Moore showed in detail the different events or decisions that he felt were disputable from Bush’s presidency, including the way he feels Bush unfairly powers the nation’s population into following that of the power elite. We will use Mills’s Power Elite Theory to argue that President George W. Bush and the power elite exercise their power over the American people through the many decisions and policies they make on our country.

In 1956, C. Wright Mills developed a theory that “the United States no longer has separate economic, political, and military leaders but instead the most prominent people in each region combine to form a united elite.” Most people saw the two main levels of power in the special interest groups and the public, but Mills displayed three levels: the power elite then the special interest groups then the public. It is the higher levels that make the decisions regarding war, national policy, and domestic policy. Members of the power elite tend to be interested in similar things and also come from similar backgrounds. An example of this would be that most members are either educated at special schools, military academics, or Ivy League schools and also share common faiths in the Episcopalian or Presbyterian churches. Members of the power elite have known other members of the group for a long time, share the same groups of friends, and also intermarry (Sociology 407). They do all of this in order to make it easier for each other to agree on the same decisions and so their close friends and relatives can belong to the power elite in the future as well.

President George W. Bush stated in a speech he gave to a group of people, the two levels that he felt existed were, "the haves and the have mores." During his speech, he joked, "Some people call you the elite. I call you my base." His quote parallels the Power Elite Theory. Many elected officials use what is known as the revolving door theory in order to become part of the power elite. This is where the elected officials place large investments in major corporations, during their term(s), that prove to be very successful. Another part of the revolving door theory is that many officials have lucrative opportunities waiting for them in the companies they dealt with while they were still in their professional lives. They do this for the main reason that they and their families will be able to stay in the power elite and maintain the benefits that come with the prestigious level (www.michaelmoore.com).

Examined in the film was the event when Bush was to appoint his foreign policy team. All the advisors he selected were viewed as major contributors in the political picture. It was observed that all but one of these advisors were members of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the New York-based organization that is a well-renowned exponent of America’s Insider establishment. This was a common method used in an attempt to make the United States a one-world government ruled by the elite class. The CFR has made close to every decision in the past regarding foreign policy, no matter what the political party of the current president. Therefore, when President Bush joined forces with this council, it became