With his article "Power" G. William Domhoff examines where the power lies in the past and in contemporary America. Domhoff's efforts analyze and define power in the United States as well as provide a history of its development from our country's creation to today. The evolution of the political and social landscape is given particular attention with a perspective focused on the influences of the power elite.
Domhoff provides a two part definition of power in the opening pages of his article to provide a more directed look for his explanation of the power base in America. With that in mind he continues to describe the difference in the development of the power base in America in contrast to most European countries. We're told how without competition of an established aristocracy or a dominant church entity it left the landowners no competition for their power and the government little avenue of achieving dominant power over them. Further, the traditionally limited powers of the federal government established by the Constitution also contributed to the inability of political entities to gain independence from the economically powerful.
The majority of Domhoff's article is spent examining this relationship between the power-holders of the economically elite and the political arms throughout the various historical periods of our country. Attention is given to the methods this social upper class and the power elite use to influence the policy makers in the government and exert their power, methods such as lobyists and think tanks.
Domhoff's article is ultimately a detailed examination of relationship that many know to exist. However, it provides an enlightening look at how this exercise of power has developed and been allowed to develop as well as an eye opening look at the degree to which it is used. Most would assume the ultimate power in this country is held by the federal government and its elected officials. Domhoff successfully details the influence of the economic elite in their use of power over politics and the promotion of their interests in America's past and present.
Monday, November 9, 2009
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I agree with the fact that the relationship that Domhoff talks about in his article, “Power”, is one that many people already know about but he describes it as being more important than most people know. Domhoff explains in this article that the people that really influence public policy and elections are the power elite. While this makes sense it’s not something that I ever really thought about. The power elite work together to put in office who they want in order to get things done, or stopped, that they are in favor of.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting point that Domhoff makes in his article is when he is talking about the history and definition of power. He says that no matter how power is defined generally speaking in the past women had little or no power in most societies until recently in Western Europe and North America. I find this interesting because in all of the different types of societies in the past women were most often treated the same, as if they weren’t equal to men, and therefore not given the chance to gain any type of power. He then goes on to say that those at the top of organizations will form alliances with others at top of other organization. With these alliances they develop barriers that make it difficult for people on the outside or on the bottom to participate in the governance of society, which is most likely women, non-whites, and others considered inferior by white men.
POWER
ReplyDeleteBy: Domhoff
In this article Domhoff talks about power, by power he is referring to distributive power between organizations. An Organization has sets of rules and ways that they can achieve a specific purpose. There are many different collective powers in Domhoff’s views. The four bases are economic organization, political organization, military organization, and religious organization. He looks at these organizations and explains why/how they all gain collective power. These powers makes the corporate and executive leaders the dominant class, because they have the position to influence and shape the political and economic boarders for society and its classes must function by. I was not surprised that he would bring up conflicts between corporate-conservative and liberal-labor parties being described as class conflicts because they both influence the Federal Government and its policies that are passed. We depend on this power because their decisions directly affect us on a much larger scale.
I wasn't really surprised that people who are on the outside of these orginizations have dfficulty or no success achieveing the same status as those above. I think that it doesn't matter what sex or what color you might be, even though Domhoff argues that it's mostly women and anyone who isn't white. It's obvious to me that those who are in power want to keep it that way...who really wants to be the monkey in the middle? (I hate that game).