They are the officers,
and although the same man may be field marshal at home, second
lieutenant at the office, and scrub private in politics, although in many
institutions the hierarchy of rank is vague or concealed, yet in every
institution that requires the cooperation of many persons, some such
hierarchy exists. [Footnote: _Cf._ M. Ostrogorski, _Democracy and the
Organization of Political Parties, passim;_ R. Michels, _Political Parties,
passim;_ and Bryce, _Modern Democracies,_ particularly Chap.
LXXV; also Ross, _Principles of Sociology,_ Chaps. XXII-XXIV. ]
In American politics we call it a machine, or "the organization."
3
There are a number of important distinctions between the members of
the machine and the rank and file. The leaders, the steering committee
and the inner circle, are in direct contact with their environment.
They may, to be sure, have a very limited notion of what they ought to
define as the environment, but they are not dealing almost wholly with
abstractions. There are particular men they hope to see elected,
particular balance sheets they wish to see improved, concrete
objectives that must be attained. I do not mean that they escape the
human propensity to stereotyped vision. Their stereotypes often make
them absurd routineers. But whatever their limitations, the chiefs are
in actual contact with some crucial part of that larger environment.
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