The Irony of Democracy An Uncommon Introduction to American Politics

by Dye, Thomas R.

• ISBN13: 9780155058002
• ISBN10: 0155058002
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-06-21
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

The elites and not the masses govern our country is the theme of this affordable THOMSON ADVANTAGE BOOKS version ofTHE IRONY OF DEMOCRACY. Known for its "elitist approach" to American Government, this text presents its argument in a new context--the politics of the 21st century--including the Clinton and Bush Administrations effects on government and politics the U.S.

Table of Contents

To the Student	xi
To the Instructor	xiii
The Irony of Democracy	1	(24)
The Meaning of Elitism	2	(3)
The Meaning of Democracy	5	(2)
Elitism in a Democracy	7	(5)
Mass Distrust of America's Elite	8	(4)
The Meaning of Pluralism	12	(2)
How Elitism and Pluralism Differ	14	(2)
Elite and Mass Threats to Democracy	16	(5)
The Unpolitics of College Students	19	(2)
An Elitist Theory of Democracy	21	(4)
Notes	23	(1)
Selected Readings	23	(2)
The Founding Fathers: The Nation's First Elite	25	(34)
Elites and Masses in the New Nation	26	(1)
Elite Preferences: Inspiration for a New Constitution	27	(4)
Formation of a National Elite	31	(5)
Elite Consensus in 1787	36	(2)
An Elite in Operation: Conciliation and Compromise	38	(4)
The Constitution as an Elitist Document	42	(5)
Elitism and the Structure of the National Government	47	(6)
Suppressing Majority ``Factions''	50	(3)
James Madison
Ratification: An Exercise in Elite Political Skills	53	(6)
Summary	56	(1)
Notes	57	(1)
Selected Readings	57	(2)
The Evolution of American Elites	59	(34)
Hamilton and the Nation's First Public Policies	60	(2)
Rise of the Jeffersonians	62	(1)
Republicans in Power: The Stability of Public Policy	63	(2)
Rise of the Western Elites	65	(1)
Elite Cleavage: The Civil War	66	(5)
Rise of the New Industrial Elite	71	(4)
Liberal Establishment: Reform as Elite Self-Interest	75	(4)
Elites in American History	77	(2)
Vietnam: Elite Failure to Lead	79	(6)
The Gulf War: Elite Leadership Restored	85	(8)
Summary	89	(2)
Notes	91	(1)
Selected Readings	91	(2)
Elites In America	93	(36)
The Concentration of Corporate Power	94	(4)
Corporate Merger Mania	97	(1)
Corporate Elites	98	(4)
The Global Elites	102	(5)
Greed in the Boardroom	104	(3)
Governing Elites	107	(1)
Elite Recruitment: Getting to the Top	108	(11)
The Friends of Bill and Hillary	112	(7)
The Liberal Establishment	119	(3)
Elite Attitudes toward Mass Governance	121	(1)
The Conservative Mood	122	(7)
Where to Find the Establishment	122	(2)
Summary	124	(2)
Notes	126	(1)
Selected Readings	127	(2)
Masses In America	129	(34)
Elite Gains, Mass Losses	130	(6)
Inequality in America	136	(3)
Mass Disaffection from Politics	139	(2)
Antidemocratic Attitudes among the Masses	141	(4)
Are the Masses Becoming More Democratic?	145	(4)
Mass Political Ignorance	149	(5)
What If the People Voted on National Issues?	152	(2)
Mass Political Apathy	154	(1)
How Does Democracy Survive?	154	(2)
The Dangers of Mass Activism	156	(7)
Summary	160	(1)
Notes	161	(1)
Selected Readings	161	(2)
Elite-Mass Communication	163	(24)
The Newsmakers	163	(2)
The Media's Political Funtions	165	(3)
Bashing America for Fun and Profit	168	(4)
Liberal Bias in Television News	172	(2)
The Hollywood Liberals	173	(1)
Bias and Slander: Freedoms of the Press	174	(2)
Media Campaigns	176	(4)
Media Coverage of Presidential Elections	177	(3)
Assessing Media Impact	180	(7)
Summary	184	(1)
Notes	185	(1)
Selected Readings	185	(2)
American Political Parties: A System In Decay	187	(24)
The Responsible Party Model in Disarray	187	(2)
Democratic and Republican Parties: Consensus or Competition?	189	(4)
Declining Mass Attachments to Parties	193	(2)
Are Democrats Liberal and Republicans Conservative?	195	(4)
Mass Perceptions of the Parties	196	(3)
Political Parties as Oligarchies	199	(2)
Presidential Primaries and the Deterioration of Parties	201	(3)
Realignment or Dealignment?	204	(2)
Independent and Third-Party Politics	206	(5)
Summary	209	(1)
Notes	210	(1)
Selected Readings	210	(1)
Elections, Money, And The Myths of Democracy	211	(34)
The Myth of the Policy Mandate	212	(1)
The Myth of the Policy-Oriented Voter	213	(2)
The Group Basis of Voting	215	(3)
The Economic Basis of Voting	218	(1)
Candidate Image Voting	218	(4)
Creating a Winning Image	220	(2)
Bill Clinton
Money Drives Elections	222	(10)
The Clinton Money Chase	230	(2)
The Unlikely Prospects for Reform	232	(2)
Staying Home on Election Day	234	(3)
Elections as Symbolic Reassurance	237	(8)
Summary	241	(1)
Notes	242	(1)
Selected Readings	242	(3)
Organized Interests: Defenders of The Status Quo	245	(24)
Interest Groups: Democratic or Elitist?	245	(2)
The Business, Professional, and Class Bias of Interest Groups	247	(4)
How Well Do Groups Represent Members?	251	(4)
Leaders and Followers---The American Association of Retired Persons	254	(1)
Lobbying: How Organized Interests Influence Government	255	(5)
PAC Power	260	(1)
Conservative Influence of Organizations	261	(8)
The Business of the Business Roundtable	265	(1)
Summary	266	(1)
Notes	267	(1)
Selected Readings	268	(1)
The Presidency	269	(34)
The President as Symbolic Leader	269	(3)
The Presidency and the Masses	272	(5)
The President's Formal Powers	277	(1)
Presidential Powers of Persuasion	278	(5)
Up Close---Sex, Lies and Impeachment	278	(5)
Issues in Presidential Power: The War-Making Controversy	283	(4)
Watergate and the Limits of Presidential Power	287	(2)
The Dual Presidency	289	(1)
George Bush
Ambition and Ambivalence	290	(7)
Bill Clinton
Presidential Sex	295	(1)
Hillary ``Stand by Your Man''	296	(1)
Other Executive Elites	297	(6)
Summary	300	(1)
Notes	301	(1)
Selected Readings	302	(1)
The Bureaucratic Elite	303	(32)
Sources of Bureaucratic Power	304	(3)
Mass Attitudes toward Washington Bureaucracies	306	(1)
Organization of the Washington Bureaucracy	307	(2)
Presidential Control of the Bureaucracy	309	(4)
Bureaucratic Maneuvers	312	(1)
The Budget Maze	313	(4)
Elite Fiscal Responsibility?	317	(4)
Bureaucratic Power, Iron Triangles, and Revolving Doors	321	(4)
The Bureaucratic Elite	325	(1)
The Regulatory Quagmire	326	(5)
Regulation---Hiding the Costs of Government	330	(1)
Controlling the Bureaucracy: Congress and Courts	331	(4)
Summary	332	(1)
Notes	333	(1)
Selected Readings	334	(1)
Congress: The Legislative Elite	335	(36)
The Elite Bias of Congressional Recruitment	336	(4)
Whom Does Congress Really Represent?	340	(2)
Congress in Disrepute	342	(4)
The Elaborate Procedures of Legislative Elites	346	(8)
Elites Within Elites: The Congressional Establishment	354	(5)
The Troubled Speakership	356	(3)
Conflict and Consensus: Voting in Congress	359	(5)
Is ``Congressional Ethics'' an Oxymoron?	362	(2)
Congress and the President: An Unstable Balance of Power	364	(7)
Summary	367	(1)
Notes	368	(1)
Selected Readings	368	(3)
Courts: Elites in Black Robes	371	(24)
Judicial Review as an Elitist Principle	372	(1)
The Making of a Supreme Court Justice	373	(3)
The Special Style of Judicial Policy Making	376	(5)
Senate Confirmation as Sleazy Spectacle	378	(3)
The Structure of the Federal Court System	381	(2)
The Jurisdiction of the Federal Court System	383	(1)
Judicial Power: Activism versus Self-Restraint	384	(6)
The Supreme Court and Abortion	388	(2)
Do the Courts Rule the Nation?	390	(5)
Summary	391	(1)
Notes	392	(1)
Selected Readings	393	(2)
American Federalism: Elites In States And Communities	395	(20)
Federalism: The Original Division of Power Between Nation and States	396	(3)
Power Flows to the National Elite	399	(2)
Money and Power	401	(1)
The Evolution of American Federalism	402	(3)
Elite Structures in the States	405	(3)
Corporate Elite Structures in the States	407	(1)
The Old Community Economic Elites	408	(2)
The New Community Political Elites	410	(5)
Summary	412	(1)
Notes	413	(1)
Selected Readings	413	(2)
Elite Response to Mass Protest	415	(32)
The History of Black Subjugation	416	(2)
Twentieth-Century Black Responses	418	(4)
Continuing Inequalities Between Blacks and Whites	422	(3)
Battles over Affirmative Action	425	(4)
Elite Versus Mass Response to Civil Rights	429	(2)
Feminism in America	431	(3)
Women and Work	434	(4)
Feminism and Elitism	438	(9)
Elites, Masses, and Sexual Harassment	440	(2)
Summary	442	(1)
Notes	443	(1)
Selected Readings	444	(3)
Public Policy: How and What Elites Decide	447	(28)
Public Policy as Elite Preference	447	(3)
Agenda Setting and ``Nondecisions''	450	(2)
Economic Policy	452	(10)
The Elite Think Tanks	454	(6)
Sneaking Preferential Treatment into the Tax Laws	460	(2)
Social-Welfare Policy	462	(7)
Health-Care Policy	469	(6)
Summary	473	(1)
Notes	474	(1)
Selected Readings	474	(1)
Epilogue: What Can Students Do?	475	(4)
Appendix The Constitution of The United States of America	479	(22)
Index	501