Proposition 040 – Limits on elite action

An elite’s scope for action is partly formed and limited by the con­duct and responses of other members of the social circle.

• Explanation. An elite’s power is not unlimited. Even when its position and status are widely recognised, its ac­tual scope for action is partly formed by the ways in which other members of the circle act and respond. Their co­operation may expand that scope; resistance, withdrawal of support or other counter-responses may limit it and lead to adjustments in goals or courses of ac­tion.