Final answer:
C. Wright Mills coined the term 'power elite' to describe the small, wealthy, and influential group in society who have control over significant resources, policy decision-making, and maintain societal power through exclusive social networks and policy favoritism.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sociologist C. Wright Mills used the term power elite to refer to the most powerful in society, including those at the top of business, the executive branch of the federal government, and the military.
In his book 'The Power Elite' (1956), Mills presented the concept of the power elite to describe a small group of people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privileges, political power, and control over societal resources.
Mills further elaborated that the power elite encompasses those in leadership positions within corporate, government, and military institutions, and they work to maintain their status and control through various means including government policy favoritism and social networks.
This theory is a reflection of elite theory, which suggests that societies are divided between a minority who makes decisions and the majority who follows them, and that the power elite use their influence to maintain social structures that benefit their interests.