Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Sociologists have long debated how power is spread throughout the US population Weber defined power as the ability to get one’s way, even in the face of opposition from others Decision making is complex and often takes place behind closed doors Two competing models Pluralist Model Power Elite/Marxist Model The Pluralist Model An analysis of politics that sees power as spread among many competing interest groups Pluralists claim: Politics is an arena of negotiation Organizations operate as veto groups Realizing some goals but mostly keeping opponents from achieving all of theirs Political process relies heavily on creating alliances and compromises so that policies gain wide support The Power Elite/Marxist Model An analysis of politics that sees power as concentrated among the rich Based on social-conflict theory Upper class holds most of society’s wealth, prestige, power Power-elite/Marxist theorists say US is not a democracy Economic and political system give a few people so much power that the average person’s voice cannot be heard Reject pluralist idea that various center of power serve as checks and balances on one another The difference between the two is that the Marxist view sees the economic sphere as most important, while the Power Elite view regards the economy, government, and military as equally important Economic Concentration Most US corporations are small Assets less than $500,000 Largest corporations dominate nation’s economy ExxonMobil Largest US corporation 208 billion in total assets Corporations are linked through INTERLOCKING DIRECTORATES Networks of people who serve as directors of many corporations This increases the concentration of power. Labor Unions Decline in Labor Unions Organizations that seek to improve wages and working conditions Widespread decline in membership Shrinking industrial sector of the economy Newer service jobs less likely to be unionized Aggressive anti-union campaigns Voting in the U.S. How is our system set up? Winner-take-all plurality voting How does this differ from other countries? What are the implications of the differences? Special-Interest Groups People organized to address some economic or social issue Employ LOBBYISTS to support goals Political Action Committees (PAC’s) Formed by special interest groups to raise and spend money in support of political aims Does having the most money matter in public elections? YES! 90% of the candidates with the most money end up winning Source: Bartels (2008) Example of Military Spending Defense is US government’s third biggest expenditure after social security US has emerged as the world’s single military superpower More military might than the next nine nations combined Military-Industrial Complex The close association of the federal government, the military, and defense industries Federal Budget in 2010 $3.7 trillion total $721 billion on Social Security $883 billion on medical care (mainly Medicare and Medicaid) $692 billion on the military