Information for Students (and Others) Reading Who Rules America
Dear Readers:
Welcome to this supplementary web site. I hope your arrival here means that the book is readable. I'm also hoping you find this web site useful, and that some of it is enjoyable as well.
There are five specific on-line articles that are mentioned in the 5th edition of Who Rules America:
- First, the article on the corporate community gives me an opportunity to go through the issue of corporate interlocks in a more deliberate and step-by-step fashion, and to illustrate what an interlock network looks like, thanks to diagrams from The CorporateLibrary.com and theyrule.net. I hope it reduces any confusion created by the quick overview in the book itself.
- Second, the article on power at the local level provides more detail on an issue that is closer to home, so to speak, in terms of our day-to-day experience. In addition to explaining the history of urban power struggles, and the devastating impact of urban renewal on large cities, the article discusses some of the progressive regimes that have had successes in a few cities. The article also has links to detailed analyses of power in Atlanta, where downtown elites have ruled almost without challenge, and San Francisco, where activists have given the growth entrepreneurs a run for their money.
- Third, there is a lengthy essay, including photos, on the Bohemian Grove, the campground in the redwoods of Northern California that has served as a midsummer retreat for the power elite since the 1890s. This one is meant to be fun as well as informative, and I reveal some of the things I had to do in order to get to the bottom of the story. In particular, the detailed account of the Cremation of Care ceremony, complete with pictures of the Owl statue, may be of special interest.
- Fourth, there is an account of the Ford Foundation's involvement in the inner city through its funding of programs to smooth the way for urban renewal. These programs soon evolved into support for neighborhood activists and advocacy groups for the urban poor. It is a case study of how a policy-planning network evolved for one tension-packed issue.
- Fifth, there's a more complete discussion of Federal Advisory Committees than could be presented in the book. Drawing on several different studies, this article provides detailed evidence about one small part of corporate involvement in government. Dozens of similar studies exist on how the corporations lobby Congress and deal with regulatory agencies.
More recently, there's an essay on what the impact of the 2006 elections is likely to be for the functioning of the power elite: What Happened in the 2006 Midterm Elections.
In addition to the aforementioned documents, there are additional materials that allow you to pursue other topics to whatever depth you may wish. They range from the history of power structure research to a more complete statement of a general theory of power (the Four Networks theory) that is only touched upon lightly in the book. There are critiques of rival theories, and information on what social scientists have to say about social change, including what seems to work and what doesn't.
Whatever your theoretical interests or political orientation, my goal has been to make the site informative and useful for everyone.
G. William Domhoff
Santa Cruz, California
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