What do you think?
Rate this book
The Higher Circles: The Governing Class in America
Preface
Introduction: The Upper Class as a Social Class
Social indicators & social institutions of the upper class
The feminine half of the upper class
The jet set, celebrities & the upper class
Cohesion & consciousness: is there an American upper class?
How the power elite make foreign policy
How the power elite shape social legislation
The power elite, the CIA & the struggle for minds
Dan Smott, Phyllis Schlafly, Reverend McBirnie & me
Where a pluralist goes wrong
Index
Introduction: The Upper Class as a Social Class
Social indicators & social institutions of the upper class
The feminine half of the upper class
The jet set, celebrities & the upper class
Cohesion & consciousness: is there an American upper class?
How the power elite make foreign policy
How the power elite shape social legislation
The power elite, the CIA & the struggle for minds
Dan Smott, Phyllis Schlafly, Reverend McBirnie & me
Where a pluralist goes wrong
Index
- GenresNonfictionPolitics
383 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1970
85 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 2, 2014
G. William Domhoff carried on the work of such sociologists as C. Wright Mills in the study of classes and how they work in the United States of America, focusing particularly on the classes which count: the people who own a disproportionate share of the country, finance its politics and control its government.
Of course, there is the prior question of class itself. Here, Domhoff provides convincing statistics and analyses in favor of the thesis that there is such a thing as a cohesive ruling class.
Of course, there is the prior question of class itself. Here, Domhoff provides convincing statistics and analyses in favor of the thesis that there is such a thing as a cohesive ruling class.
November 13, 2025
G. William Domhoff’s The Higher Circles: The Governing Class in America (1970) occupies a central position in the development of American elite theory and the sociology of power. Written in the wake of C. Wright Mills’s The Power Elite (1956), Domhoff’s study both extends and systematizes Mills’s insights, offering an empirically grounded account of how a relatively cohesive governing class exercises influence over political, economic, and cultural life in the United States. The book combines sociological analysis, historical interpretation, and empirical research to challenge pluralist models of democracy and to expose the enduring concentration of power among a small group of interconnected elites.
At its core, The Higher Circles argues that the United States is not governed by a diffuse plurality of interest groups—as the pluralist school of political science, represented by Robert Dahl and others, had claimed—but rather by a socially cohesive and institutionally entrenched ruling class. This class, Domhoff contends, derives its power from the ownership and control of major corporations, the interlocking directorates of business enterprises, and the pervasive influence of elite social institutions such as private schools, clubs, and foundations. The term “higher circles” designates not merely a set of powerful individuals, but a structured social network that shapes policy formation, public opinion, and national priorities.
Methodologically, Domhoff distinguishes his work by its rigorous empirical foundation. Drawing on extensive data from corporate records, foundation reports, organizational memberships, and social registries, he constructs a detailed portrait of the institutional interconnections that constitute the American ruling class. Through network analysis, he demonstrates how the same individuals frequently occupy leadership positions across multiple domains—business, government, military, education, and philanthropy—thereby ensuring both coordination and continuity of elite interests. These interlocking networks, Domhoff argues, make the American power structure self-reinforcing: a system in which socialization, recruitment, and institutional control reproduce the conditions of elite dominance over time.
Domhoff’s theoretical framework situates his analysis within the broader tradition of elite sociology, yet it diverges from the deterministic assumptions of classical Marxism. While acknowledging the centrality of economic power, he emphasizes the role of social and ideological mechanisms in sustaining elite cohesion. The governing class maintains its legitimacy not only through material dominance but also through cultural institutions that disseminate values conducive to capitalist stability and hierarchical order. Elite universities, think tanks, and policy-planning organizations serve as sites where consensus is forged and disseminated. In this respect, The Higher Circles anticipates later neo-Gramscian approaches to hegemony, which highlight the interplay between material structures and ideological leadership.
A particularly notable aspect of Domhoff’s analysis is his attention to the “policy-planning network”—a term that would become central in his later works. He identifies institutions such as the Council on Foreign Relations, the Committee for Economic Development, and major philanthropic foundations as crucial intermediaries between corporate elites and state policymakers. These organizations, he argues, do not simply lobby for narrow interests but articulate broad strategies for the preservation of capitalist democracy and U.S. global leadership. In this way, The Higher Circles reveals how the boundaries between private influence and public policy are blurred, creating what Domhoff calls a “governing class” that operates both inside and outside the formal structures of government.
The book also functions as an implicit critique of postwar social science. Domhoff challenges the pluralist paradigm that dominated American political theory in the 1950s and 1960s, which posited that competing interest groups prevented any single elite from monopolizing power. In contrast, Domhoff marshals empirical evidence to show that the economic and social upper class exercises disproportionate control over policy outcomes and public discourse. His work thus aligns with the revisionist current in political sociology that sought to restore questions of class, power, and inequality to the center of analysis—questions that the behavioralist and pluralist schools had largely displaced.
Stylistically, The Higher Circles is both accessible and analytical. Domhoff’s prose balances theoretical rigor with clarity, making complex sociological arguments comprehensible without sacrificing nuance. His approach avoids conspiratorial overtones; he insists that elite power operates through institutionalized processes of socialization and structural advantage rather than secret manipulation. This commitment to sociological explanation distinguishes his work from more polemical treatments of elite power and underscores his ambition to establish a scientific framework for the study of ruling-class cohesion.
Reception of The Higher Circles reflected the intellectual divisions of its time. Critics from the pluralist camp accused Domhoff of underestimating the diversity and fluidity of American power, while Marxist scholars faulted him for not situating his analysis more explicitly within the dynamics of capitalist production. Yet, despite these critiques, the book’s influence has been enduring. It laid the empirical and theoretical groundwork for Domhoff’s subsequent works, including The Bohemian Grove and Other Retreats (1974) and Who Rules America Now? (1983), and contributed significantly to the institutionalization of power-structure research as a legitimate field of inquiry.
In retrospect, The Higher Circles occupies an important position in the intellectual history of American sociology. It bridges the radicalism of Mills’s critique with the methodological precision of later network and organizational studies. Domhoff’s insistence on analyzing elites through their social relations, institutional affiliations, and cultural reproduction has had a lasting impact on research in political economy, corporate governance, and policy studies. His framework also provides a lens through which subsequent developments—such as neoliberal globalization and the rise of transnational corporate networks—can be understood as extensions of the patterns he identified in the late twentieth century.
The Higher Circles is a foundational work in the sociology of elites and remains essential reading for scholars interested in the structure and reproduction of power in American society. Domhoff’s combination of empirical depth, theoretical coherence, and sociological insight offers a persuasive challenge to liberal pluralism and a durable model for analyzing how power operates in formally democratic systems. Far from being a historical artifact, the book continues to illuminate the dynamics of class cohesion, institutional influence, and the enduring question of who governs America.
GPT
At its core, The Higher Circles argues that the United States is not governed by a diffuse plurality of interest groups—as the pluralist school of political science, represented by Robert Dahl and others, had claimed—but rather by a socially cohesive and institutionally entrenched ruling class. This class, Domhoff contends, derives its power from the ownership and control of major corporations, the interlocking directorates of business enterprises, and the pervasive influence of elite social institutions such as private schools, clubs, and foundations. The term “higher circles” designates not merely a set of powerful individuals, but a structured social network that shapes policy formation, public opinion, and national priorities.
Methodologically, Domhoff distinguishes his work by its rigorous empirical foundation. Drawing on extensive data from corporate records, foundation reports, organizational memberships, and social registries, he constructs a detailed portrait of the institutional interconnections that constitute the American ruling class. Through network analysis, he demonstrates how the same individuals frequently occupy leadership positions across multiple domains—business, government, military, education, and philanthropy—thereby ensuring both coordination and continuity of elite interests. These interlocking networks, Domhoff argues, make the American power structure self-reinforcing: a system in which socialization, recruitment, and institutional control reproduce the conditions of elite dominance over time.
Domhoff’s theoretical framework situates his analysis within the broader tradition of elite sociology, yet it diverges from the deterministic assumptions of classical Marxism. While acknowledging the centrality of economic power, he emphasizes the role of social and ideological mechanisms in sustaining elite cohesion. The governing class maintains its legitimacy not only through material dominance but also through cultural institutions that disseminate values conducive to capitalist stability and hierarchical order. Elite universities, think tanks, and policy-planning organizations serve as sites where consensus is forged and disseminated. In this respect, The Higher Circles anticipates later neo-Gramscian approaches to hegemony, which highlight the interplay between material structures and ideological leadership.
A particularly notable aspect of Domhoff’s analysis is his attention to the “policy-planning network”—a term that would become central in his later works. He identifies institutions such as the Council on Foreign Relations, the Committee for Economic Development, and major philanthropic foundations as crucial intermediaries between corporate elites and state policymakers. These organizations, he argues, do not simply lobby for narrow interests but articulate broad strategies for the preservation of capitalist democracy and U.S. global leadership. In this way, The Higher Circles reveals how the boundaries between private influence and public policy are blurred, creating what Domhoff calls a “governing class” that operates both inside and outside the formal structures of government.
The book also functions as an implicit critique of postwar social science. Domhoff challenges the pluralist paradigm that dominated American political theory in the 1950s and 1960s, which posited that competing interest groups prevented any single elite from monopolizing power. In contrast, Domhoff marshals empirical evidence to show that the economic and social upper class exercises disproportionate control over policy outcomes and public discourse. His work thus aligns with the revisionist current in political sociology that sought to restore questions of class, power, and inequality to the center of analysis—questions that the behavioralist and pluralist schools had largely displaced.
Stylistically, The Higher Circles is both accessible and analytical. Domhoff’s prose balances theoretical rigor with clarity, making complex sociological arguments comprehensible without sacrificing nuance. His approach avoids conspiratorial overtones; he insists that elite power operates through institutionalized processes of socialization and structural advantage rather than secret manipulation. This commitment to sociological explanation distinguishes his work from more polemical treatments of elite power and underscores his ambition to establish a scientific framework for the study of ruling-class cohesion.
Reception of The Higher Circles reflected the intellectual divisions of its time. Critics from the pluralist camp accused Domhoff of underestimating the diversity and fluidity of American power, while Marxist scholars faulted him for not situating his analysis more explicitly within the dynamics of capitalist production. Yet, despite these critiques, the book’s influence has been enduring. It laid the empirical and theoretical groundwork for Domhoff’s subsequent works, including The Bohemian Grove and Other Retreats (1974) and Who Rules America Now? (1983), and contributed significantly to the institutionalization of power-structure research as a legitimate field of inquiry.
In retrospect, The Higher Circles occupies an important position in the intellectual history of American sociology. It bridges the radicalism of Mills’s critique with the methodological precision of later network and organizational studies. Domhoff’s insistence on analyzing elites through their social relations, institutional affiliations, and cultural reproduction has had a lasting impact on research in political economy, corporate governance, and policy studies. His framework also provides a lens through which subsequent developments—such as neoliberal globalization and the rise of transnational corporate networks—can be understood as extensions of the patterns he identified in the late twentieth century.
The Higher Circles is a foundational work in the sociology of elites and remains essential reading for scholars interested in the structure and reproduction of power in American society. Domhoff’s combination of empirical depth, theoretical coherence, and sociological insight offers a persuasive challenge to liberal pluralism and a durable model for analyzing how power operates in formally democratic systems. Far from being a historical artifact, the book continues to illuminate the dynamics of class cohesion, institutional influence, and the enduring question of who governs America.
GPT
August 3, 2007
I read this in college -- the sociology department was quite radical. Domhoff is one of the students of C. Wright Mills -- who wrote the Power Elite. This book is quite dated now, but it does show how the elite's children go to the same prep schools, the same ivy league school, belong to the same clubs, and all that. Domhoff has written many books since then. You could look for something more update, but this is the one that got him started.
December 23, 2016
Along with his Who Rules America, this book explains clearly why it isn't you or I. Well recommended if you want to know why Wall Street got a trillion dollar bailout back in 2008 while the rest of us got austerity.
August 10, 2008
the section where he explains where he agrees and disagrees
with the far right on the power structure is magnificent
with the far right on the power structure is magnificent
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews