Power elite is a term popularised by sociologist C. Wright Mills to describe a relatively small, tightly knit group of individuals who occupy the top positions in the dominant institutions of American society—namely, the military, the industrial (corporate) sector, and the government—and who collectively hold the most power and make key decisions that shape the fate of the United States. According to Mills, these elites share similar backgrounds, interests, and worldviews, and their decisions have far-reaching consequences for the rest of the population, often operating outside of traditional democratic processes and accountability. The theory of the power elite suggests that power in modern industrial societies is concentrated rather than widely dispersed.