> He's got a point about state autonomy - though some of that autonomy
> is a case of people (like central bankers) taking a longer-term view
> than practical commercial sorts are capable of - but I don't agree on
> the military. The US military largely follows orders from civilians.
You probably know this, but for the record: Mills first published the Power Elite in 1956. Just after WW2 and immediately after the Korean War. The Cold War was at a high point. The emphasis on the military was understandable. Nowadays, he'd probably add "ideological determinism" to his mix in order to include the "higher agents" of the mass media, the academic establishment, the think tanks, and the church.
Julio