Do Corporations Rule the United States? Much of history is about POWER … about who governs …

Do Corporations Rule the United States? A very complex question No black or white answer! Need to study all aspects of the issue including: –The theories of democracy –The role of interest groups, and their role and influence on the government Jack Abramoff scandal

Four Theories of Democracy (Theories of Interest Groups) 1.Traditional –The authority rests with the people, and they make the decisions that affect their lives 2.Pluralism (1950’s – today) –There are multiple competing groups that make demands on government, power is dispersed and compromised 3.Elitism (1960’s – today) –The elite 1% have all the power, property, and wealth 4.Hyper-pluralism (1980’s – today) –The role of power has shifted: globalization of capital, political parties have less power, fewer people vote, we elect people by issues and personality, not by party or records

Elitism – C Wright Mills There is a single power elite in modern societies Key people in government, economy, and military –their similar social backgrounds provides a major source of unity among them A summary video of the power elite model:

Elitism – C Wright Mills People today are focused on one or two issues People do not work together Small groups and special interest groups lobby The media dominates and dictates The government is decentralized People lack time, money, and incentive

A Different View Robert A. Dahl In the 1960s, Dahl was involved in a dispute with C. Wright Mills over the nature of politics and Elitism in the United States. Mills: America's governments are in the grasp of a unitary and demographically narrow power elite Dahl: there are many different elites involved, who have to work both in contention and in compromise with one another

Influence of Pluralism Influence of pluralism, and Dahl’s work in particular, drew attention and scrutiny. –Methodological criticism – too narrow –Limited cases don’t prove government is truly democratic –Biased questions and misleading conclusions Other criticized implications of pluralism –Defends the status quo

Michael Parenti: Indicators Focused on more practical issues and worked on patterns and experimental cases where interest groups and corporations influenced decision-making. Parenti’s work: “American Imperialism”, “Terrorism”, “The Ideological Distortions of the Corporate Media”, and “The Corrosive Influence of Wealth and Elite Power upon Popular Democracy”, and much more.

George Draffan The Elite Consensus: When Corporations Wield the Constitution: The corporate agenda is served equally by conservative, liberal, and libertarian philosophies Corporate power descends from the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court grants of "personhood" and Bill of Rights protections to corporations Draffan focuses on the mechanisms of power exerted by the entire network of corporate players, not about scandals in one industry or another. For a directory of Transnational Corporations see: (

Do Corporations Rule the United States? The four political theories presented here would only help you define the structure of “Government”. Just a simple pathology and no prescription that vary from: –A single power elite, to many elites, to the role of interest groups, to elite consensus Based on arguments on and around the topic, there is no Yes or No answer to whether the corporations rule the united states. However followers of a “Yes” answer might have stronger, tangible, and more convincing reasons.

Generalization of the Issue For your future thoughts: Do corporations rule the world? Must see