Democracy vs elitism

In elitist theory power is seen as concentrated amongst a few groups or individuals, including the government. Elitist theory would suggest that only a few major pressure/interest groups, such as the NRA or AARP, actually have any influence, and that even they struggle to gain power because it is concentrated in the hands of a few members of government.

Democracy is a system of government where the citizens exercise power by voting. In a direct democracy, the citizens as a whole form a governing body and vote directly on each issue. In a representative democracy the citizens elect representatives from among themselves.