William Domhoff: Power And Indicators Of Social Power

In the corporate setting, capitalism plays an important role in the sense that it helps ensure that the decisions made by leaders, such as the CEOs, take into consideration the company’s or stockholders’ interest in gaining profit (Peñaloza & Barnhart, 2011). This implies that it compels business leaders to make decisions that minimize loses while increasing the profitability of the firm. In most occasions, this is accomplished through the application of the utilitarian and Kantian approach to decision-making. However, it’s important to note that the central implication of public capitalism is that of helping foster corporate decision-making based on the broader effort to promote the public good (Peñaloza & Barnhart, 2011).

Throughout history, major corporations have taken control over nations. During the late 1800s and early 1900s big business have made a name for themselves in the united states. Even though, major corporations have had a positive impact on society, they in fact hurt our economy greatly.

As seen in Document C, in 1887, a labor leader illustrated the enormous amount of control large corporations had not just in the American economy, but also in American society as a whole, specifically in politics. The amount of control and influence these businesses had on politics was massive. As seen in Document D, Joseph Keppler’s political cartoon from 1889, shows the massive corruption in the political system to the degree that he stated that the U.S. Senate was no longer for the people, but now for the big business monopolies. The American people responded to the unrivaled influence of corporations in politics by forming political and economic organizations that were intended to restrain the monumental influence of big

Nowadays, after the passing of several bills constraining the actions of corporations, acting in a similar manner would pose several legal and ethical issues. This is why, Freeman argues, this ancient idea of managerial capitalism is no longer effective.

Reading G. William Domhoff’s Who Rules America?: The Triumph of the Corporate Rich was an intriguing and challenging experience for me. My limited knowledge base of the American political class system mostly stems from high school US History classes and listening to my mom’s stories of her experiences in the corporate world. Therefore, I am aware that due to my prior lack of knowledge on the topics presented in Domhoff’s book, I may have misjudged some of his finer points. Part of my struggles may be largely due to the fact that Domhoff’s intended audience for Who Rules America? is other experts in the field of understanding the sociology of the corporate elite and their resources of power. However, I believe that the book has given me a better, if not complete, understanding of the corporate elite and how they stay in power.

There has been a lot of fuss over big business influencing the government in the United States lately. Now there is no doubt that the business elite have some influence on politics. It can even be traced back to the early 1900’s, when “the People’s Party had disintegrated, but many writers and activists have continued to echo the Populists’ central thesis: that the U.S. democratic political system is in fact dominated by business elites” (). Although there are countless arguments to go against this idea, the questions still comes up today: Is government dominated by big business? Political Scientist G. William Domhoff believes that government is dominated by big business. More specifically, Domhoff believes that owners and top-level managers in income-producing properties are not only dominant power figures in the US, but they also have inordinate influence in the federal government (). Another political scientist however, Sheldon Kamieniecki, believes otherwise. He states that businesses do not really get involved in policies that affect them; and even when they do, their success rate at influencing policies is not consistent. In fact, he believes that other factions have more influence on government policies ().

The purpose of the textbook, Who Rules America? by G. William Domhoff, is to explain his theory of Class Domination. My essay emphasises the relation of social class to power, the existence of a Corporate community, the relationship of the Corporate community to the upper class, and various methods used by the Corporate community to dominate the U.S Political System. Furthermore, my essay will discuss the potential limits to corporate power in America.

In the book, The Corporation Joel Bakan presents arguments, that corporations are nothing but institutional pathological psychopaths that are “a dangerous possessor of the great power it wields over people and societies.” Their main responsibility is maximizing profit for their stockholders and ignoring the means to achieve this goal, portrays them as “psychopathic.” Bakan argues that, corporations are psychopaths, corporate social responsibility is illegal, and that corporations are able to manipulate anyone, even the government.

G. William Domhoff is by trade a psychologist and sociologist and is the author of several books on the theory of power and class structure. In his book, Who rules America Now? Domhoff provides an in depth analysis of the structure of wealth and power in America. He asserts the existence of an institutional upper class in America that is able to dictate/direct the politics, economy and government by virtue of its wealth and power. I contend that Domhoff through his analysis of the wealth and power structure of the American upper class can be considered as a lay cultural theorist. This is based upon his identification of the cultural processes of the upper class - those learned shared patterns of behaviors and interactions that allow them

The government in the United States supposedly revolves around American ideals such as equality and diversity; however, this is simply not the case as perpetuated by class inequalities. The meaning of democracy has been skewed in the United States to represent something entirely different than it did in 1776. Today, American democracy behaves more like an aristocracy, where the upper class exercises power within the government and state, influencing discourse and therefore the laws and resources in our country, which are purportedly “for the people”. Democracy is presumed to provide everyone with equal political power, but the government in today’s America, although seemingly following this ideal model, does not. Instead, the elite upper class has a monopoly over the political influence and are the sole benefactors from public policies due to their influence over the policy making process. The upper class has an overall benefit from class inequality, as it greatly impacts American ‘democracy’ through the significant power gained through money and status, leadership roles that impact government, and the influence in the policymaking process that creates upper class advantages.

In conclusion, the conglomerate wave of the 1960s and the takeover movement of the 1980s shifted the focus of corporations away from serving the interests of all groups of corporation’s constituents towards serving the class of elite. This shift in the objectives of corporations has created a set of social issues associated with the vast inequalities, growing rates of precarious employment and the transfer of wealth from the majority of population to the selected few individuals. In the 1980s, corporations experienced a decline in profits and employees in different industries experienced massive layoffs, while the payout ratio of shareholders and corporate executives increased from 42 percent to 57 percent. In the 1990s, layoffs did not decrease,

The power elite is able to exert power over society. The power elite’s control over politics demonstrates how inequality is functional. This validates the class-domination theory of power, which is distributed based on economic power. By controlling economic resources, the power elites political influence in government shapes law and those involved in government to the power elites benefit. In today’s American society these laws have impacted both the corporate community and the elite. Furthermore, the author’s portrayal of the elite displayed how the elite have control concerning choices in government policies, elections, and laws.

Q1. Power elite theory suggests "that the leaders of big organizations inevitably dominate all large-scale societies, including the United States" (Domhoff 2005). Contrary to strict Marxism, which suggests that the 'haves' or privileged individuals within a given society hold the reins of power, and strict class conflict determines who dominates, power elite theory stresses that a certain elite group of persons (which can be a mix of the nation's intelligentsia, politicians, leaders of corporations, and other powerful individuals) structure society to benefit themselves. Wealth and possessing occupations with a great deal of social cache and living in the 'right' areas enable members of the elites to send their children to the 'correct' schools and create social, financial, and political networks that enable the elites to remain in power. Even supposedly liberal Democrats in the United States like Barak Obama are often beholden to the need to get elected and rely upon financing from elite financial institutions. This is a powerful challenge to the concept of meritocracy and class mobility.

Power is present in every relationship and within each individual. Power is defined as a group’s ability to make another group its subject or to make some desired action either by consensus or force. Within any organization or government, some elite groups make decisions that directly or indirectly affect the lives of the larger mass. Studies have shown that such decisions in most cases are made to service the elite’s value and economic interests; property ownership or production. Such directions within the society cause resentment and inequality when the larger mass is not included in the decision making. The inequality makes the elite class to enforce their wishes and will on the less fortunate (Jessop 174). This essay seeks to give a

In the case that there is no conflict between the search for profits and the general interest of society, then a corporation can simply pursue both interests at the same time, and certainly the actions undertaken in the pursuit of shareholder wealth are justified, so long as they are legal. For instance, Delfglaauw (2000) claimed that owing to the advancement in technology, individuals’ action and reactions are increasingly visible and immediate. Companies are also under public scrutiny as never before. Under such circumstances, interest of shareholders and the society at large are aligned. Corporations should pursue both shareholder wealth and meet the increasing social expectations, for a flawed public image of a