Business Lobbies and the Power Structure in America

by Jacobs, David C.

• ISBN13: 9781567200416
• ISBN10: 1567200419
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-02-28
• Publisher: Praeger Pub Text

Summary

Case studies of the legislative process and other sources of evidence indicate that American business lobbies have provided a nearly united front of opposition to even the most modest proposals meant to enhance societal well being in the United States--particularly on such issues as national health insurance, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and other initiatives like them. Jacobs argues that their unwillingness to compromise with labor and other social groups has made lobbies a barrier to policy-making and a source of social injustice. His evidence and arguments are presented concisely, persuasively and with conclusions that will be a subject of significant debate among academics, public policy makers, and decision makers throughout the private sector.

Author Biography

DAVID C. D. JACOBS is Associate Professor at the Kogod College of Business Administration, American University-Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(10)
CHAPTER ONE Sophisticated Conservatives	11	(4)
CHAPTER TWO Mainstream Business Lobbies	15	(6)
CHAPTER THREE The Role of the Labor Policy Association	21	(26)
CHAPTER FOUR Case Studies: Health Care Reform and Occupational Disease Notification	47	(10)
CHAPTER FIVE Case Studies: Social Security, Plant Shut-downs, and Striker Replacements	57	(10)
CHAPTER SIX Civil Rights Act of 1991: An Exceptional Case	67	(4)
CHAPTER SEVEN Pressures on the Business Lobbies: Dominant Minorities and Internationalization	71	(8)
CHAPTER EIGHT Business Liberalism	79	(20)
CHAPTER NINE State Politics	99	(6)
CHAPTER TEN Think Tanks and Political Rhetoric	105	(10)
CHAPTER ELEVEN Values and Business Schools	115	(4)
CHAPTER TWELVE A Conservative View	119	(20)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN A Liberal View	139	(4)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Prospects for Progressive Business Politics	143	(6)
APPENDIX 1 Is Business a "System of Power"?	149	(10)
APPENDIX 2 BSR Board of Directors	159	(12)
Selected Bibliography	171	(4)
Index	175