Powers and impotencies of elites: Who, what for and how influence is exercised in Argentina?

Abstract

In recent years, elites have attracted renewed public and academic attention. In most interpreta- tions, criticism is frequent but contradictory. At the heart of this divergence lies the ambiguity of the concepts of elite and power. Based on the Argentine case and drawing on quantitative and qualitative data, I synthesize existing approaches to examine the powers and powerlessness of economic, social and political elites in neoliberal regimes. Three questions are considered: Who are the elites? What for and how is their influence exercised? The conclusion is that while members of elites can concentrate advantages, as a group they have little capacity to introduce reforms in pursuit of the common good.