Who Rules America? is a book by research psychologist and sociologist G. William Domhoff, Ph.D., published in 1967 as a best-seller (#12).
WRA is frequently assigned as a sociology textbook and documents the dangerous concentration of power and wealth in the American upper class.[1] More recent editions have brought the discussion up to date and include the rise of Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and the trend toward nationalism in the Republican Party.[2]
Summary
Domhoff argues in the book(s) that a power elite wields power in America transparently through its support of think-tanks, foundations, commissions, and academic departments.[3] Additionally, he argues that the elite control institutions through overt authority, not through covert influence.[4]
In his introduction, Domhoff writes that the book was inspired by the work of four previous researchers: sociologists E. Digby Baltzell, C. Wright Mills, economist Paul Sweezy, and political scientist Robert A. Dahl.[5]
The University of California, Santa Cruz hosts Domhoff's Who Rules America? web site.[6]
Publication history
The original edition was followed by seven subsequent editions:[7]
- Who Rules America Now? (1983)
- Who Rules America? Power and Politics in the Year 2000 (1998)
- Who Rules America? Power and Politics (2002)
- Who Rules America? Power, Politics, & Social Change (2006)
- Who Rules America? Challenges to Corporate and Class Dominance (2010)
- Who Rules America? The Triumph of the Corporate Rich (2014)
- Studying the Power Elite: Fifty Years of Who Rules America (2017)
- Who Rules America? The Corporate Rich, White Nationalist Republicans, and Inclusionary Democrats in the 2020s (2022)
References
- ^ "WhoRulesAmerica.net".
- ^ "Who Rules America? (8th edition): The Corporate Rich, White Nationalist Republicans, and Inclusionary Democrats in the 2020s".
- ^ World of Sociology. Gale. November 2000. ISBN 978-0-7876-4965-4.
- ^ Miller, Kenneth E. (1967). "Who Rules America? by G. William Domhoff". Journal of Politics. 31: 565–567. doi:10.2307/2128630. JSTOR 2128630.
- ^ Domhoff, G. William (1976). Who Rules America? p. 1. ISBN 0139583637.
- ^ "Who Rules America?" whorulesamerica.ucsc.edu.
- ^ "Studying the Power Elite: Fifty Years of Who Rules America?" (2017). Routledge.
External links
- Official website
- "Who Rules America?" (1987). An interview and discussion with G. William Domhoff about his book on Alternative Views.
- Episode 334 (Part 1)
- Episode 335 (Part 2)