1. 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 public policy.]
2.The few who govern are not typical of the masses who are governed. Elites are drawn disproportionately from the upper socioeconomic strata of society.
3.The movement of non-elites to elite positions must be slow and continuous to maintain stability and avoid revolution. Only non-elites who have accepted the basic elite consensus can be admitted to governing circles.
4.Elites share a consensus on the basic values of the social system and the preservation of the system. [ In the United States, the elite consensus includes private enterprise, private property, limited government, and individual liberty.]
5.Public policy does not reflect demands of the masses but rather the prevailing values of the elite. Changes in public policy will be incremental rather than revolutionary. [ Incremental changes permit responses to events that threaten a social system with a minimum of alteration or dislocation of the system.]
6.Elites may act out of narrow self-serving motives and risk undermining mass support, or they may initiate reforms, curb abuse, and undertake public-regarding programs to preserve the system and their place in it.
7.Active elites are subject to relatively little direct influence from apathetic masses. Elites influence masses more than masses influence elites.