Political Action SP11

Summary of Authors' Essential Points

Gar Alperovitz

Wealth: Alperovitz refers to Kevin Phillips who establishes that wealth “’…reaches beyond its own realm’ to control political power and government at all levels”. <ref> Alperovitz, Gar. America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth Our Liberty, and Our Democracy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc:New Jersey, 2005 (2)</ref> In the United States wealth is concentrated in the upper class allowing the top 10% of the population to control and manage 80% of the country’s wealth. Wealth comes in many forms, of either money or property and how this is owned and controlled is the real center of power in our political economy.<ref> Alperovitz, Gar. America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth Our Liberty, and Our Democracy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc:New Jersey, 2005 (5)</ref> Current trends demonstrate “…that the ownership of wealth must benefit the vast majority directly”. <ref> Alperovitz, Gar. America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth Our Liberty, and Our Democracy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc:New Jersey, 2005 (5)</ref>

America Beyond Capitalism

Liberty: Liberty in itself is not what is needed in this day and age but “equal liberty”. ‘Equal liberty’ is “…and idea that also reaches beyond legal and constitutional protections to consider the capacities and real-world conditions of the vast majority”.<ref> Alperovitz, Gar. America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth Our Liberty, and Our Democracy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc:New Jersey, 2005 (39)</ref> In order for such liberties to function, they require 3 inputs from society:

1) “First, liberty requires institutional and structural support for individual economic security to replace that which at least in theory was once provided by entrepreneurial property.

2) Second, it requires support for the community-wide conditions needed to nurture the intermediate associations and civil society organizations that are essential to sustaining a culture supportive of liberty.

3) Third, it requires greater amounts of equitably distributed free time (without which little real freedom of choice is possible) and support for individual development (without which the capacities needed to exercise real freedom must inevitably be limited).”<ref> Alperovitz, Gar. America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth Our Liberty, and Our Democracy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc:New Jersey, 2005 (40-41)</ref>

Democracy: Alperovitz raises the idea of democracy, by examining it on a small scale and a large scale. He begs the question: “It is possible to have Democracy with a Big D in the system as a whole of you do not have real democracy with a small d at the level where people live, work, and raise families in their local communities”. <ref> Alperovitz, Gar. America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth Our Liberty, and Our Democracy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc:New Jersey, 2005 (43)</ref> Without local level democracy, society wide democracy cannot function effectively. He also stipulates that for meaningful democracy to exist, it requires a level of greater equality amongst the citizens. Currently our economic system arranges society in an intentionally unequal stratification. <ref> Alperovitz, Gar. America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth Our Liberty, and Our Democracy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc:New Jersey, 2005 (51)</ref>

Alperovitz's Ideals

Alperovitz discusses several suggestions to evolve the system’s current political-economic developments: “First, that there is now way to achieve movement toward greater equality without developing new institutions that hold wealth on behalf of small and large publics. Second, that there is no way to rebuild Democracy with a big D in the system as a whole without nurturing the conditions of democracy with a small d in everyday life—including the economic institutions that allow and sustain greater stability of local community life…[Also] that there is no way to achieve a meaningful individual liberty in the modern era without individual economic security and greater amounts of free time—and that neither of these, in turn, is possible without a change in the ownership of wealth and the income flows it permits”. <ref> Alperovitz, Gar. America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth Our Liberty, and Our Democracy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc:New Jersey, 2005 (233-234)</ref>

Alperovitz's Reforms

In his concluding remarks Alperovitz leans towards Pluralist Commonwealth Models by stating that: “The Pluralist Commonwealth model holds, beyond this, the democratic control of large economic enterprise—a central problem confronting all political-economic systems—can never be achieved without transforming and making public the ownership of large-scale wealth and without developing a new culture—and further, that this can only be done by building on the four key elements. Without local democracy; there can be no culture of democratic practice; without security and time, there can be only a weak citizenry; without decentralization, it is difficult to mobilize democratic practice and accountability; and without major and far-reaching new forms of wealth holding, there can never be adequate support for the conditions and policies needed to build a more egalitarian and free democratic culture. Finally the model is based on the judgment that greater equality, greater individual economic security, greater amounts of free time, and –upon this basis—the reconstitution of a culture of common responsibility are ultimately required if we are ever to reorient our community and national priorities in general”. <ref> Alperovitz, Gar. America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth Our Liberty, and Our Democracy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc:New Jersey, 2005 (234)</ref>

Alperovitz also discusses that reform needs to happen in a “step-by-step nonviolent change” and like revolution the process will reorient the development of different institutional structures to replace traditional corporate formations over time. <ref> Alperovitz, Gar. America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth Our Liberty, and Our Democracy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc:New Jersey, 2005 (235)</ref> Alperovitz calls this conjunktur, which “designates a coming together at one movement in time of diverse trends to create new, unforeseen, and often dramatic opportunities for change”. <ref> Alperovitz, Gar. America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth Our Liberty, and Our Democracy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc:New Jersey, 2005 (237)</ref>

G. William Domhoff

Domhoff's Ideas By Chapter

Chapter 1: Class and Power in America: Domhoff examines social class and its relation to power as he notices the wealth disparity with the top 10% controlling 80% of the wealth and power in the American capitalist system. Due to the invested economic and social capital by the upper class and corporate classes they are able to maintain their status quo in the wealthy class.

Who Rules America?

Chapter 2: The Corporate Community: The corporate community is made up of interlocking networks between the members of boards of directors, with individual corporations at the center of these networks and at the center of influence.

Chapter 3: The Corporate Community and the Upper Class: The corporate community is intricately intertwined with the upper class through the perpetuation of upper class organizations, exclusive country clubs and good old boys clubs. These clubs provide an informal and calming environment in which to socialize and make personal or business connections.

Chapter 4: The Policy-Planning Network: Domhoff holds that the policy planning process begins among the power elite in CEO offices and board rooms and those discussion spill over into the government where they are enacted. Domhoff believes the main component to the networks make them especially effective in influencing policy, is their interaction and influence with foundations, think tanks, university research institutes and policy discussion groups. o Power elites are individuals who work as directors, or trustees in corporations and non profits and whose power is most concentrated because they sit on multiple boards.

Who Rules America?

Chapter 5: The Role of Public Opinion: Despite the fact that public opinion is not swayed easily by the media, the elite have created an intricate opinion shaping network, through their control of the mass media industry to legitimize their power to the other classes and manipulate public opinion and push their own agenda.

Chapter 6: Parties and Elections: Domhoff elaborates on the ability of the elite to manipulate political parties and the electoral system in order to maintain their power. The two party system is controlled by the elite which is contradictory to the American Dream that anyone can become president. In reality, presidential candidates are able to run for office because they already belong to elite institutions which enable them to make connections, accumulate resources and money.

Chapter 7: How the Power Elite Dominate the Government: Through lobbying and the special-interest process, corporations can use their financial and power resources to sway policies in the direction they so choose. As a result, recommendations in the policy planning process reach the government in several ways: 1) People within the policy planning network are often members of committees advising on policies; 2) Corporate executives and experts are prominent on presidential and congressional commissions when appointed to make recommendations; 3) Corporate leaders have personal contact with elected members of organizations with access to the government; 4) Power elites occasionally serve as informal advisers to the president in times of crisis; and 5) Elites that are appointed to government positions can endorse policies from their colleagues and employees in the policy-planning network. <ref> Domhoff, G. William. Who Rules America?: Challenges to Corporate and Class Dominance. 6th Ed. McGraw-Hill: University of California, Santa Cruz, 2010(179-180)</ref>

Chapter 8: The Big Picture: Domhoff discusses different theories of power but identifies with the class domination of power theory. He explains that domination is “the institutionalized outcome of great distributive power”. <ref> Domhoff, G. William. Who Rules America?: Challenges to Corporate and Class Dominance. 6th Ed. McGraw-Hill: University of California, Santa Cruz, 2010(210)</ref> In the United States, the distributive power of the upper and dominant class is based on structural economic power it has gained from being made up of high level executives and business owners.

Domhoff's Reforms By Chapter

Chapter 9: Potential Challenges to Class Domination: Domhoff encourages those whom are opposed to class domination or racial exclusion by would engage in social movements outside the electoral system to try and gain new rights. <ref> Domhoff, G. William. Who Rules America?: Challenges to Corporate and Class Dominance. 6th Ed. McGraw-Hill: University of California, Santa Cruz, 2010(225)</ref> Domhoff also provides advice to the government in that it will have to decide whether it does or does not want to support unions or forms of paternalism (such as improvements in health insurance and other social benefits) or support the corporate community. <ref> Domhoff, G. William. Who Rules America?: Challenges to Corporate and Class Dominance. 6th Ed. McGraw-Hill: University of California, Santa Cruz, 2010(230)</ref>

Project Vote

Mission

Project Vote is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to providing resources to teach, encourage, and assemble marginalized groups such as low income, minorities and youth to vote. <ref> Project Vote. Project Vote. PV, 2011. Web. 7 May 2011. http://projectvote.org/home.html </ref>

How does Project Vote's initiatives parallel Alperovitz's thoughts?

Wealth

Liberty

Democracy

How will Project Action overcome the shortcomings of Capitalism revealed by Bowles, Edwards, Roosevelt?

Efficiency

Fairness

Democracy

Center for Voting and Democracy (CVD)

How does CVD's initiatives parallel Alperovitz's thoughts?

Wealth

Liberty

Democracy

How will CVD overcome the shortcomings of Capitalism revealed by Bowles, Edwards, Roosevelt?

Efficiency

Fairness

Democracy

Independent Progressive Politics Network (IPPS)

How does IPPS's initiatives parallel Alperovitz's thoughts?

Wealth

Liberty

Democracy

How will IPPS overcome the shortcomings of Capitalism revealed by Bowles, Edwards, Roosevelt?

Efficiency

Fairness

Democracy

Midwest Democracy Center (MDC)

How does MDC's initiatives parallel Alperovitz's thoughts?

Wealth

Liberty

Democracy

How will MDC overcome the shortcomings of Capitalism revealed by Bowles, Edwards, Roosevelt?

Efficiency

Fairness

Democracy

The Labor Party

How does the Labor Party's initiatives parallel Alperovitz's thoughts?

Wealth

Liberty

Democracy

How will the Labor Party overcome the shortcomings of Capitalism revealed by Bowles, Edwards, Roosevelt?

Efficiency

Fairness

Democracy

The New Party

How does the New Party's initiatives parallel Alperovitz's thoughts?

Wealth

Liberty

Democracy

How will the New Party overcome the shortcomings of Capitalism revealed by Bowles, Edwards, Roosevelt?

Efficiency

Fairness

Democracy

The Working Families Party (WFP)

How does the WFP's initiatives parallel Alperovitz's thoughts?

Wealth

Liberty

Democracy

How will the WFP overcome the shortcomings of Capitalism revealed by Bowles, Edwards, Roosevelt?

Efficiency

Fairness

Democracy

References

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