Koch Industries as a Power Elite

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The photo above pictures the front of the Koch Industries headquarters building in Wichita, Kansas. Koch Industries is a conglomerate corporation in control of manufacturing and distributing oil, gas, energy, fibers, chemicals, technological equipment, paper, and many other materials, across the United States. The large logo in front is written in large bold silver lettering with an American flag stuck in the middle of it. The actual building it directly behind the logo and sign. The building is large and grey filled with dark windows of offices. The outside of the building is decorated with large trees, foliage, and freshly cut grass with a clean pathway leading to the building.

In "The Power Elite," C. Wright Mills argues that there are three spheres of "power elites" that make decisions for a modern society. Those spheres are the military sphere, the corporate sphere (large businesses, economy), and the governmental sphere (political) (Mills 1956: 7). These spheres consist of a few powerful individuals at the top of the social hierarchy that hold similar views, backgrounds and agendas, work together to make controlling decisions to uphold their statuses, and make decisions that impact society as a whole. These individuals can move between these different positions. Mills emphasizes that the power elite essential disregard the events of democracy and make decisions on their own, not taking into consideration the lives and opinions of the people they are making the decisions for. He explains that the power elite "occupy the strategic command posts of the social structure, in which are now centered the effective means of the power and the wealth and the celebrity in which they enjoy" (Mills 1956: 4).

In relation to Mills' argument on the power elite, Koch Industries, being a giant, powerful corporation controlling much of the oil and gas in the United States, has the power, status, and money to lobby and support campaigns that argue for laws in favor of their views. The power elite of Koch Industries has spent insanely large amounts of money in support of legislators that they know will be in support of laws that help their business, including laws that cut their taxes and laws that are against the regulation of the materials they produce (oil, gas, energy, etc.). By giving money to legislators and campaigns, Koch Industries is using their social hierarchy and power to influence and contort laws to be in favor of what their company wants, even if it means negative consequences for society as a whole (increased exposure to chemical toxins, increased carbon emissions in Earth's atmosphere).

Sources:

Robert, Deutsch. 2015. "Koch Industries is the second-largest private company in America." From usatoday.com. April 18, 2024 (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/04/27/koch-industries-criminal-justice-job-applications/26325929/).

Farrell, John Aloysius. 2011. "Koch's Web of Influence." The Center for Public Integrity, April, 6. Retrieved April 18, 2024 (https://publicintegrity.org/politics/kochs-web-of-influence/).

Mills, C. Wright. 1956. The Power Elite. Oxford University Press.

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