Who Rules America? : Challenges to Corporate and Class Dominance

by Domhoff, G. William

• ISBN13: 9780078111563
• ISBN10: 0078111560
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-07-16
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages

Summary

It is an exciting time to consider the question of who rules America. Indeed, it is an exciting time to consider the question of who might rule the country a few years from now. The sixth edition of G. William Domhoff's classic text Who Rules America? Challenges to Corporate and Class Dominance describes how power and influence are exercised in American society, while focusing specifically on the shifting tide represented by the election of Barack Obama to the presidency.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. viii
Introduction: This Is the Ideal Historical Moment to Be Reading This Book	p. xi
Class and Power in America	p. 1
What Is a Social Class?	p. 1
Social Class According to Social Scientists	p. 4
Is There an American Upper Class?	p. 7
Is the Upper Class an Economic Class?	p. 10
What Is Power?	p. 12
The Social Science View of Power	p. 13
Three Power Indicators	p. 15
What Do Other Social Scientists Think?	p. 20
Here's the Plan	p. 21
The Corporate Community	p. 24
The Unexpected Origins of the Corporate Community	p. 26
The Board of Directors	p. 28
The Corporate Community Today	p. 30
The Director Network as an "Inner Circle"	p. 35
Strategic Alliances/Producer Networks	p. 37
Is There a Separate Military-Industrial Complex?	p. 38
The Incorporation of High-Tech Companies	p. 40
The Corporate Lawyers	p. 43
From Small Farms to Giant Agribusinesses	p. 45
Small Business: Not a Counterweight	p. 47
Local Businesses Form Growth Coalitions	p. 49
Structural Power and Its Limits	p. 51
The Corporate Community and the Upper Class	p. 55
Prepping for Power	p. 57
Social Clubs	p. 61
The Feminine Half of the Upper Class	p. 68
Dropouts, Failures, and Change Agents	p. 71
Continuity and Upward Mobility	p. 72
The Upper Class and Corporate Control	p. 74
Where Do Corporate Executives Come from?	p. 80
The Assimilation of Rising Corporate Executives	p. 81
Class Awareness: A Capitalist Mentality	p. 83
The Policy-Planning Network	p. 85
An Overview of the Policy-Planning Network	p. 87
Foundations	p. 90
Think Tanks	p. 97
The Mixed Role of Universities in American Power Conflicts	p. 99
The Policy-Discussion Groups	p. 100
The Committee for Economic Development: A Policy Group in Decline	p. 107
The Business Council	p. 111
The Business Roundtable	p. 111
The Liberal-Labor Policy Network	p. 113
The Power Elite	p. 115
The Role of Public Opinion	p. 119
The Opinion-Shaping Network	p. 120
Striving to Shape Opinion on Foreign Policy	p. 130
Trying to Shape Opinion on Economic Policies	p. 132
Creating Doubt about Scientific Findings	p. 135
Social Issues	p. 137
The Role of the Mass Media	p. 139
The Role of Public Opinion Surveys	p. 144
The Enforcement of Public Opinion	p. 144
When Public Opinion Can and Cannot Be Ignored	p. 146
Parties and Elections	p. 147
When and How Do Elections Matter?	p. 147
Why Only Two Major Parties?	p. 150
Republicans and Democrats	p. 152
Party Primaries as Government Structures	p. 156
The Critical Importance of Campaign Finance	p. 159
The Obama Financial Network	p. 163
Other Corporate Support for Candidates	p. 166
The Results of the Candidate-Selection Process	p. 168
The Liberal-Labor Coalition in Electoral Politics	p. 171
How the Power Elite Dominate Government	p. 173
The Role of Governments	p. 174
The Special-Interest Process	p. 176
The Policy-Making Process	p. 179
Appointees to Government	p. 183
Is the Obama Administration Different?	p. 187
Supreme Court Appointments	p. 195
The Great Exception: Labor Policy	p. 198
Why Do Business Leaders Feel Powerless?	p. 204
The Limits of Corporate Domination	p. 208
The Big Picture	p. 210
A Critique of Alternative Theories	p. 212
Why Is the Corporate Community So Powerful?	p. 219
Potential Challenges to Class Domination	p. 225
The Transformation of American Politics	p. 225
Will the Obama Administration Challenge Class Domination?	p. 229
Challenges to Class Dominance through Social Disruption	p. 233
Appendix: Indicators of Upper-Class Standing	p. 236
References	p. 240
Index	p. 259
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