ELITES IN DEMOCRACY AS A COMPLEX SOCIAL SYSTEM (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)

Abstract

The article is devoted to elites as components of a democratic political system. It considers the essence of elitism, the characteristics of democracy, analyzes the elites in democracy. The authors highlight the main features of pluralism, compare elitism and pluralism. On the example of the American political system, they describe how elites and the masses interact with each other. The article focuses on the main issues of the elitist theory of democracy. The aim of the article is to study the correlation between elites and the masses in a democracy, as well as the role of the elite in ensuring democratic procedures on the example of the USA The article is based on an interdisciplinary approach as well as the principles of objectivity and social approach. Research methods are methods of analysis and synthesis, historical and comparative methods.