[lbo-talk] Superclass!

(Chuck Grimes) cgrimes at rawbw.COM
Fri Jun 27 08:55:38 PDT 2008


``..We've had a series of books in recent years that amount to little more than a pornography of wealth. But the connection of wealth to actual power is rarely explored. Sure, hedge fund managers can deploy billions, and CEOs can hire and fire thousands, but what is the relation of that narrow economic power to broader political, social and cultural power?..'' Doug

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So, this book doesn't answer the question either, I take it?

As I recall Mills was a little vague too on exactly how the PE rule. I think it took Domkoff to really spell it out with names and linkages. But I haven't re-read Who Rules America in a very long time.

The cultural linkages are pretty obvious through ownership of mass media and mass commmunitication. The financial markets, what Mills called the real grease of the PE is also a pretty obvious link, but it needs to be re-spelled out and explained again.

As I remember Domkoff's primary link to political power was set up through the executive branch appointments, particularly the State Department and appointments to key US embassies. These days I would also look at high level trade commissions that are attached to State or Commerce(?) or Treasury(?) where international trade deals and various policies and regulation are worked out...

There are the military and their pentagon contractors and consultants. Then the vast network of foundations that have largely taken over social policy work, healthcare issues, etc.

In some sense it should be easier to trace out the power links than it was in Mills' time, since we are more `privatized' and it's becomes accepted wisdom that the `free market' does most things better than government agencies, etc..

The other question I have is within the power elite, the currents and tensions that obviously exist---I just don't know what they are. Mills was pretty good at outlining these in a sort of sociology of the elite. I gather much of that stability and continuity is disappearing as old wealth families have (or so it seems) move out of the way of new comers like Gates.

I guess my other question revolves around the roll of insurance industry and healthcare and the whos who of that orbit...

Gotta to work my slave job...

CG



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