Discuss about the Governance of Market Societies for Copyrighting Culture.
The concept of power has been a topic of much discussion since the ancient times and it is a reflection of this that several researches have been conducted in this particular field so as study the real nature of this particular concept (Quinney & Shelden, 2018). In particular the question “who wields the actual power in the society or in any particular nation” has also captured the attention of the people in the present times (Quinney & Shelden, 2018). Furthermore, this particular question can be seen as a reflection of not only the changing nature of the concept of power in the present day society but also the way this particular concept is utilized by the various individuals as well as the business organizations of the present times “to bring about the overall growth as well as the development of their entire business process” (Murray & Scott, 2012). It is here that the book “Who rules America? The Triumph of the corporate Rich” of the author “Domhoff William” published in the year 2013 gains special prominence. This paper will try to conduct a critical review of this particular book as per the “the guideline of Australian National University (ANU) document”.
“Domhoff William” in his famous book “Who rules America? The Triumph of the corporate Rich” provides an overview of the extent to which the society of the nation of the United States of America is being ruled by the various elites as well as wealthy section of that particular nation (William, 2013). Furthermore, the book at the same time challenges the “class and corporate dominance, which shapes political environment in America” (William, 2013). In the opinion of the author, although the nation of the United States of America claims to be a socialist one yet the economy of the nation is being regulated on the basis of the concept of capitalism and thus the entire power as well as the wealth of the nation is being controlled by only a handful of the people of the nation and it is a reflection of this that not all the people of the nation gets equal amount of economic and other opportunities just like the other nations of the world (William, 2013). In the opinion of the author, in this particular context the dictum of the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States of America which states that “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America” becomes total façade (Baltzell, 2018). In the opinion of the author, “For years, elites in America have shielded power through foundations, academic departments, commissions, and think tanks” (William, 2013). Additionally, he “proves that elites in America control power and economy through overt means and not through covert influence” (William, 2013).
The author also takes the help of various kinds of statistics to drive home the point made by him in the initial part of his book. The most significant statistics which he takes the help of his book are “as of 2010, 35.4% of wealth held in private was controlled by only 1% of the upper class. On the other hand, 53.5% of wealth held in private was controlled by only 19%. Thus, 20% controlled the 89% of privately held wealth, leaving only 11% to be shared among the bottom 80%. Again, considering financial wealth, the top one percent had a bigger share of 42.1%, leaving only 57.9% of financial wealth to 99%” (William, 2013). Furthermore, he also states that the “the top 1% controls 62.4% of business equity, 64.4% of financial securities, and 35% of stock held in private. On the other hand, the next 9% controls 30.5% of business equity, 29.5% of financial securities, and 45.8% of stock held in private. Lastly, the bottom 90% controls 8.1% of business equity, 6.1% of financial securities, and 19.2% of stock held in private. Notably, top 10% have 84% to 94% of business equity, stocks, trust funds, bonds, and nearly 80% of non-home real estate” (William, 2013). Thus, it becomes apparent that a handful of the people of the nation, that is, less than 10% population of the nation control amount of wealth as well as the power which is more than the amount of power and wealth which is being controlled by the remaining 90% of the population of the United States of America (William, 2013).
In the opinion of many people the concept of wealth as well as power are correlated and one term can be used to relate to the other one (Murray & Scott, 2012). For instance a person who has a considerable amount of power will automatically make connections with the right kinds of people which is likely to provide him with a considerable amount of power and vice versa. Therefore, it is generally seen that the concept of power as well as wealth are related to each other since the ancient times. In the particular context of the book under discussion here it becomes apparent that the “Wealth is used as a resource by the rich to donate, sponsor political parties, pay lobbyists, and offer grants to professionals who are mandated to come up with new policies aimed at benefiting the wealthy. Additionally, wealth can be used to shape the greater social environment in order to safeguard the interests of the wealthy” (William, 2013). Furthermore, it is generally seen that since the wealthy people of the nation of the United States of America control the majority of the wealth as well as the power of the nation therefore the stock market and the other important organizations of the nation are also being controlled by the same people. Therefore, it would be apt to say that although the United States of America claims to a democratic and claims that the power of the nation rests in the hands of the people however it is seen that the majority of the power of the nation rests with only the 10% population of the nation who are wealthy as well as powerfully and the remaining 90% of the population of the nation are being controlled by them (William, 2013). Thus, it can be said that democracy is just a façade in the nation of the United States of America.
The primary objective of the book “Who rules America? The Triumph of the corporate Rich” by the author “Domhoff William” is to find out the real place in the nation of the United States of America where the real power as well as the wealth of the nation lies. It is significant to note that authors takes the help of various theoretical frameworks and others to derive the conclusion that the real wealth as well as the power of the nation lies in the hands of the limited 10% of the wealthy and the powerful elite of the nation who controls the remaining 90% of the population of the nation (William, 2013). Furthermore, the author states that this is in complete contrast to the various precepts of democracy which states that the real power of the nation lies with the people of the nation irrespective of the amount of wealth as well as power which they hold.
The central argument of the author in the book “Who rules America? The Triumph of the corporate Rich” is the fact that only 10% of the population of the nation of the United States of America holds the kind of wealth as well as power which is more than enough to control and regulate the remaining 90% of the population of the nation in the most effective manner (William, 2013). Furthermore, he articulates the view that this particular fact is in complete opposition to the various precepts of democracy which seeks to provide equal amount of power as well as wealth to all the entities of the nation. Therefore, in the view of the author the entire system of democracy becomes a facade meant to suppress as well as to control the people of the nation and at the same time to maintain the status quo of the society. The author also takes the help of various kinds of statistics to derive the results which were necessary for the formulation of the book under consideration here.
The author takes the help of the various kinds of statistics derived by the other researches and has at the same time various researches of his own in a bid to derive the results which were necessary to arrive at the results which formed the key features of the book “Who rules America? The Triumph of the corporate Rich”. Moreover, the author also takes the help of various kinds of secondary books as well as articles provided by the authorities of the nations to derive the conclusions necessary for the formulation of the book.
The author in order to validate the results derived by him during the process of his research takes the help of various kinds of statistics. For example, the most important statistics which the author takes the help is the fact that the “90% of the people of the nation of the United States of America are controlled as well as regulated by the 10% wealthy and the powerful elites of the nation” (William, 2013). Furthermore, the author is also of the opinion that “as of 2010, 35.4% of wealth held in private was controlled by only 1% of the upper class. On the other hand, 53.5% of wealth held in private was controlled by only 19%. Thus, 20% controlled the 89% of privately held wealth, leaving only 11% to be shared among the bottom 80%” (William, 2013). Therefore, it would be apt to say that the author takes the help of various kinds of researches as well as statistics to arrive at the results stated by him in his book “Who rules America? The Triumph of the corporate Rich”.
The author in the book “Who rules America? The Triumph of the corporate Rich” explicitly states the values which he seeks to describe. As per the author the most important fact of the preset society of the nation of the United States of America is the unequal distribution of the wealth as well as power in the nation. In the opinion of many people the nation of the United States of America is a democratic one and does it should give equal opportunities to all the people of the nation however in practise it is rarely seen.
The author in the book “Who rules America? The Triumph of the corporate Rich” takes the help of the various kinds of already existing literatures related to the genre of power and wealth and their distribution in the nation of the United States of America. The author at the same time also takes the help of various kinds of statistics to validate the points made in the literatures which he takes the help of to derive home the points made by him.
The book makes a significant contribution to the subject of the use of power as well as wealth in the society of the United States of America. The book seeks to repudiate some of the earlier stated arguments about the distribution of wealth and power in the nation and also creates some new ones.
The author uses a clear, concise and argumentative style for the composition of this particular book. Moreover, the author also takes the help of various kinds of statistics to validate the various points made by him in the book.
Conclusion
To conclude, the book “Who rules America? The Triumph of the corporate Rich” gives a pertinent account of the nature of the distribution of power and wealth in the society of the United States of America. The author is of the opinion that more than 90% of the wealth as well as the power of the nation is being controlled by the 10% of the population of the society and this account for the un-equality in the society of the United States of America.
References
Baltzell, G. (2018). Constitution of the United States – We the People. Constitutionus.com. Retrieved 30 April 2018, from https://constitutionus.com/
Bettig, R. V. (2018). Copyrighting culture: The political economy of intellectual property. Routledge.
Cronin, J. E. (2014). Global rules: America, Britain and a disordered world. Yale University Press.
Dalton, M. (2017). Men who manage: Fusions of feeling and theory in administration. Routledge.
Domhoff, W. (2013). Wealth, Income, and Power,? in Who Rules America. Retrieved on March, 18, 2013.
Medvetz, T. (2012). Think tanks in America. University of Chicago Press.
Murray, G., & Scott, J. (Eds.). (2012). Financial elites and transnational business: Who rules the world?. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Quinney, R., & Shelden, R. G. (2018). Critique of the legal order: Crime control in capitalist society. Routledge.
William, D. G. (2013). Who Rules America? The Triumph of the Corporate Rich. McGraw Hill, New York
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