Public policy may be viewed as the preferences and values of a governing elite. Although it is often asserted that public policy reflects the demands of the people, this may express myth rather than the reality of American democracy. Elite theory suggests that the people are apathetic and ill informed about public policy. The elites actually shape mass opinion on policy questions more than masses shape elite opinion. Thus, public policy really turns out to be the preferences of the elite. Public officials and administrators merely carry out the policies decided on by the elite. Policies flow downward from elites to masses, they do not arise from mass demands.
             In the elite theory, society is divided into the few who have power and the many who do not. Only a small number of persons allocate values for society; the masses do not decide the public policy. The few people who govern are not the typical of the masses that are governed. Elites are drawn disproportionately from the upper socioeconomic strata of society. Elitism implies that public policy does not reflect the demands of the people so much as it does the interest, values, and preferences of the elites. Therefore, change and innovations in public policy come about as a result of redefinitions by elites of their own values. Because of the general conservatism of the elites, change in public policy will be incremental rather than revolutionary. Public policies are frequently modified but seldom replaced. Changes in the nature of the political system occur when events threaten the system, and elites, acting on the basis of enlightened self- interest, institute reforms to preserve the system and their place in it. In America, the basis of elite consensus is the sanctity of private property, limited government, and individual liberty. The values of elites may be very public regarding. The sense of noblesse oblige may permeate elite values, and the welfare of the masses may be an im...