Who Rules America? The Corporate Rich, White Nationalist Republicans, and Inclusionary Democrats in the 2020s (Eighth Edition)

The 8th edition, already significantly updated, has now been further updated in 2023 to include the likely impact of the post-pandemic cutbacks, the overturning of Roe v Wade, and the Trump indictments on the 2024 national elections. These factors could lead to more economic growth and social support for families, schools, and health care--or an increase in inequality, white male supremacy, and social strife, depending on the size of the voter turnout by younger voters. At this crucial moment in American history, when voting rights could be expanded to include all citizens, or legislatively limited, this significantly updated edition of __Who Rules America?__ shows precisely how the top 1% of the population, who own 43% of all financial wealth, and receive 20% of the nation’s yearly income, dominate governmental decision-making. They have created a corporate community and a policy-planning network, made up of foundations think-tanks, and policy-discussion groups, to develop the policies that become law. Through a leadership group called the power elite, the corporate rich provide campaign donations and other gifts and favors to elected officials, serve on federal advisory committees, and receive appointments to key positions in government, all of which make it possible for the corporate rich and the power elite to rule the country, despite constant challenges from the inclusionary alliance and from the Democratic Party. The book explains the role of both benign and dark attempts to influence public opinion, the machinations of the climate-denial network, and how the Supreme Court came to have an ultraconservative majority, who serve as a backstop for the corporate community as well as a legitimator of restrictions on voting rights, union rights, and abortion rights, by ruling that individual states have the power to set such limits. Despite all this highly concentrated power, it will be the other 99.5%, not the top 0.5%, who will decide the fate of the United States in the 2020s on all the important issues. Introduction: Setting the Stage for What Follows Who Are the Top 0.5%? Keeping Power and Politics in Perspective A Guide to What Follows 1 Concepts, Definitions, and Power Indicators Power Is a Relationship: The Social Science View of Power The Social Psychology of Being Powerful or Powerless The Four Major Power Networks What Does “Power” Mean in American Culture? Social Classes, According to Social Scientists How Do Americans Perceive Social Classes? Class, Caste, and Colorism in the United States Cultures of Resistance and Liberation, Cultures of Resentment There Have Been No Conspiracies to Take Over the Government Three Power Indicators Conclusion 2 The Corporate Community Introduction The General Contours of the Corporate Community The Unexpected Origins of the Corporate Community The Board of Directors Two Important Business Sectors in the Corporate Community The Director Network as a Leadership Group The Corporate Lawyers From Small Farms to Agribusinesses in the Corporate Community Small Businesses and Their Reliance on the Corporate Community Local Businesses Form Growth Coalitions Structural Power and Its Limits 3 The Corporate Community and the Upper Class Introduction Is There an American Upper Class? Prepping for Power Social Clubs Women’s Roles as a Window into the Upper Class Continuity and Upward Mobility The Upper Class and Corporate Control The Social-Class Backgrounds of Corporate Executives The Assimilation of Rising Corporate Executives Drop-Outs, Failures, and Change Agents Conclusion: Common Economic Interests and Social Bonds 4 The Corporate Rich, The Policy-Planning Network, and the Power Elite Introduction The Power Elite: An Institutionalized Leadership Group Foundations Think Tanks Policy-Discussion Groups The Creation of New Government Agencies The Rise of Ultraconservative Foundations and Think Tanks The Mixed Role of Universities in American Power Conflicts Conclusion: The Policy-Planning Network in Perspective 5 The Role of Public Opinion Introduction and Overview An Overview of the Opinion-Shaping Network The American Creed and Blaming the Victims Benign Public Relations Shaping Public Opinion through Educational Nonprofits Manufacturing Crises and Spreading Doubt Dark Public Relations: Attempts to “Enforce” Public Opinion The Secondary Role of the Media When Public Opinion Can and Cannot Be Ignored Conclusion 6 Parties and Elections Electoral Rules as Containment Strategies Electoral Containment and Voter Suppression in America Why Are There Only Two Major Parties? The Two Political Parties: The In-Group Against the Out-Groups The Republican and Democratic Coalitions from 1878 to 1994 Party Primaries Bring Wild Cards into Elections The Big, Not Determinative, Role of Campaign Finance Other Corporate Support for Candidates The Liberal-Labor Alliance in Electoral Politics How Did Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Win the 2020 Presidential Election? The Results of the Candidate-Selection Process But There’s Still Uncertainty 7 How the Power Elite Dominate Government Introduction The Special-Interest Process The Policy-Making Process Appointees to Government The Trump and Biden Cabinets: A Study in Contrasts The Supreme Court: A Bastion of Corporate Dominance The Liberal-Labor Alliance and Congress The Limits of Corporate Domination Conclusion 8 Examining the American Power Structure in a Wider Perspective Why Are the Corporate Rich So Powerful? The Transformation of the American Power Structure Power and Social Change The What If’s and What’s Next’s Acknowledgments Bibliography Index "At this crucial moment in American history, when voting rights could be expanded to include all citizens, or legislatively limited, this significantly updated edition of Who Rules America? shows precisely how the top .05% of the population, who own 43% of all financial wealth, and receive 20% of the nation's yearly income, dominate governmental decision-making. They have created a corporate community and a policy-planning network, made up of foundations think-tanks, and policy-discussion groups, to develop the polices that become law. Through a leadership group called the power elite, the corporate rich provide campaign donations and other gifts and favors to elected officials, serve on federal advisory committees, and receive appointments to key positions in government, all of which make it possible for the corporate rich and the power elite to rule the country, despite constant challenges from the inclusionary alliance and from the Democratic Party. The book explains the role of both benign and dark attempts to influence public opinion, the machinations of the climate-denial network, and how the Supreme Court came to have an ultraconservative majority, who serve as a backstop for the corporate community as well as a legitimator of restrictions on voting rights, union rights, and abortion rights, by ruling that individual states have the power to set such limits. Despite all this highly concentrated power, it will be the other 99.5%, not the top 0.5, who will decide the fate of the United States in the 2020s on all the important issues"-- Provided by publisher At this crucial moment in American history, when voting rights could be expanded to include all citizens, or legislatively limited, this significantly updated edition of Who Rules America? shows precisely how the top 0.5% of the population, who own a rapidly growing share of the nation’s wealth, and an increasing percentage of its yearly income, dominate governmental decision-making. They have created a corporate community and a policy-planning network, made up of foundations, think-tanks, and policy-discussion groups, to develop the policies that become law. Through a leadership group called the power elite, the corporate rich provide campaign donations and other gifts and favors to elected officials, serve on federal advisory committees, and receive appointments to key positions in government, all of which make it possible for the corporate rich and the power elite to rule the country, despite constant challenges from the inclusionary alliance and from the Democratic Party. The book explains the role of both benign and dark attempts to influence public opinion, the machinations of the climate-denial network, and how the Supreme Court came to have an ultraconservative majority, who serve as a backstop for the corporate community as well as a legitimator of restrictions on voting rights, union rights, and abortion rights, by ruling that individual states have the power to set such limits. Domhoff details how the corporate rich and the power dominate US policy, despite constant challenges from inclusionary alliances and from Democrats. The book is updated to explain attempts to influence public opinion and how minority rule can now undermine other policies.