Who Rules America? Power, Politics, and Social Change

I read the first edition of this book in 1969 in an undergraduate political science course at Penn State. The graduate assistant for the course told us to take it with a grain of salt, but that wasn't really necessary. Everyone I knew who read the book believed every word, but no one got particularly exercised by the fact that the U.S. was governed by a small, interlocking elite with enormous wealth and power. Yes, this was happening in the tumultuous '60's, but Penn State was a conservative campus, loaded with students in engineering, agronomy, and the hard sciences, each one with a slide rule in his shirt pocket. Besides, the experience of the post-WWII era seemed to assure that when we graduated, we would walk straight into good jobs and live upper-middle class lives. In other words, the elites who were demonstrably running the country were doing a pretty job, at least for us. Little did we know that come the early '70's the self-evident efficacy of the ruling elite would fast fade away, at least for us. Goffman has periodically up-dated Who Rules America, and what was once a great read has stood the test of time. To his credit as a dispassionate social scientist, he has also worked with Tom Dye, a very different sort of elite theorist, a conservative who thinks that the ruling elite is motivated by an ethic of service and brings to the job the education, connections, and cultural capital needed to do the job as well as it can be done. I remember hearing Goffman speak about governmental reform, turning the country away from war, and reorganizing the American economy to the benefit of all. His prescription was to take over the Democratic Party and use that as a vehicle for progressive social change. As best I can determine, his books, including this one, are a good deal better than his prescription. Nevertheless, anyone wanting a good account of why we're in the mess we're in, given by one who has studied this issue for four decades, would do well to read Goffman's book.

I read the first edition of this book in 1969 in an undergraduate political science course at Penn State. The graduate assistant for the course told us to take it with a grain of salt, but that wasn't really necessary. Everyone I knew who read the book believed every word, but no one got particularly exercised by the fact that the U.S. was governed by a small, interlocking elite with enormous wealth and power. Yes, this was happening in the tumultuous '60's, but Penn State was a conservative campus, loaded with students in engineering, agronomy, and the hard sciences, each one with a slide rule in his shirt pocket. Besides, the experience of the post-WWII era seemed to assure that when we graduated, we would walk straight into good jobs and live upper-middle class lives. In other words, the elites who were demonstrably running the country were doing a pretty job, at least for us. Little did we know that come the early '70's the self-evident efficacy of the ruling elite would fast fade away, at least for us. Domhoff has periodically up-dated Who Rules America, and what was once a great read has stood the test of time. To his credit as a dispassionate social scientist, he has also worked with Tom Dye, a very different sort of elite theorist, a conservative who thinks that the ruling elite is motivated by an ethic of service and brings to the job the education, connections, and cultural capital needed to do the job as well as it can be done. I remember hearing Domhoff speak about governmental reform, turning the country away from war, and reorganizing the American economy to the benefit of all. His prescription was to take over the Democratic Party and use that as a vehicle for progressive social change. As best I can determine, his books, including this one, are a good deal better than his prescription. Nevertheless, anyone wanting a good account of why we're in the mess we're in, given by one who has studied this issue for four decades, would do well to read Domhoff's book.

I would have given this a 5 star except there is no big difference between this edition and the previous one. We use this book in our econ class, students are told it's ok to buy either edition.

Professor Domhoff poses (and answers) these questions: - Is there a wealthy class in America? If so, do they connect in any empirical way with huge corporations, financial institutions, and large agribusinesses? - How can a highly competitive group of corporate leaders cooperate enough to work their common will in the political and policy arenas? - How is it possible for these groups to exert so much influence in a supposedly free and democratic society? The answers to these questions are not secret, but neither are they everyday news. With the aid of sociological and empirical studies, Domhoff describes the extensive interlocking relationships between the very wealthy class, huge corporations, trade organizations, policy planning organizations, think tanks, and the many ways they influence (and even merge with) our government. After reading this book, one might wonder if the welfare of the common people is ever taken into account in government decisions. And that is the point. Indeed, Domhoff clearly demonstrates that most policy battles in government, though cloaked in rhetoric about the general welfare, are actually fights among different moneyed and powerful interests when their usual interrelationships and consensus building organizations (above) are unable to produce a united front. For a focus on how corporate power has gained control in diverse policy areas in Congress, see recently published (5/1/06) Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government -- and How We Take It Back by David Sirota. With unusual clarity, Sirota's book also lays bare the myths and lies that corporations and bought-off politicians use to mask the self-serving nature of policies and to promote public acquiescence. Another excellent book, Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain by George Monbiot, underscores the worldwide nature of this problem. This book also has an informative website at www.whorulesamerica.net.

Clearly shows how the American society works, exposes the control of the upper crust - and never slides into the swamp of conspiracy theorists. Every serious student of our society must read this book!