are not monolithic *

Power-Elites are Industry and Finance leaders, Big media, High Academia and filthy rich families and friends, and "Enforcers"-the Military Industrial Complex-NSA, Banking & Parts of Government, including International Regulatory & Legal organizations.Note that the Ruling Elites are of a Wide political and philosophical spectrum, and are NOT all Fascists, not all set on destroying the Bill of Rights. But many of them support a New World Order where Nations are have little power, where regular citizens have little say in goverment and power issues. That is, many Elites do not believe in democracy or even a Republican form of government. Their arrogance leads them to discount regular people as incapable of thinking or rationality, as Sheeple.

Sadly, too often Elites are RIGHT. Citizens have NO CLUE what's happening, even less what to do about it.

In fact, the opposite is also true. Not so often as Sheeple, Elites are subject to vicious splits and power plays among themselves, and many are Ruthless, like John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan who wer part of starting all this.There appears to be some infighting - factions developing, but the Military/CIA, supra-National and Global Corporatocracy arms seem predominant. Academics mainly serve an advisory role on implementing a global corporatocracy. There is likely some baiting of intellectuals who are always expendable to those who crave total power. (Note the classical Purges of Russia, China, Germany and other countries. Intellectuals, jounalists and dissidents are killed and imprisoned first).