Assignment Instructions/ Description
Urban Affairs Paper #4: Due Thursday, 5-17-18, 11:59PM 3-page minimum, double-spaced, paginated, cover page. We have been investigating the relationship between the state and civil society and how the distribution of power is allocated in a democratic society such as the USA. In doing this, we have addressed the key conceptual debates and insights provided by Lenin (State and Revolution), Mills (The Power Elite), and Domhoff (Who Rules America?). According to Lenin, Mills, and Domhoff, “power arrangements” in a democratic society and how they impact its citizens are not random distributions. They are orchestrated by key “actors” in the political arena under the “guise” of a democratic society. WRITING PROMPT Based on the readings from Lenin, Mills, and Domhoff, and Plutocracy III: Class Conflict and the Noam Chomsky video, “Democracy is a Threat to Any Power System”, provide a brief discussion on the challenges that confront civil society in the United States and the exercise of democratic power. The paper must include the following sections: 1. A definition of power according to Lenin, Mills, and Domhoff. 2. Who in our democratic society possesses power in the political arena? 3. Should something be done politically, or not, to redistribute this power or make it more accessible to others in a democratic society? 4. Is the current state of affairs in our democracy and the distribution of power acceptable as the status quo? REQUIRED VIDEOS TO WATCH (YOUTUBE OR GOOGLE) Plutocracy III: Class War Who Rules America? IV, V, VI (Press TVs Documentary) Noam Chomsky, Democracy is a Threat to Any Power System (1:23:57) G. William Domhoff: Who Rules America Today? (4-14-2014) (43:15) REQUIRED READINGS Vladimir Lenin, State and Revolution, 1918/2011 (Martino Publications: 978-1- 61427-192-5). C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite, 1956/2000 (Oxford University Press: 978-0-19- 513354-7. G. William Domhoff, Who Rules America? The Triumph of the Corporate Rich, 7th Edition, 2014 (McGraw-Hill: 978-0-07-802671-3). STATE AND REVOLUTION Vladimir Lenin State and Revolution • State and Revolution (1917), by Vladimir Lenin, describes the: (1) role of the state in society; (2) the necessity of proletarian revolution; and (3) the theoretic inadequacies of social democracy in achieving revolution to establish the “dictatorship of the proletariat”. • As discussed in the Gotha Program, the “dictatorship of the proletariat” means one thing to Marx (that is the democratic ownership of the means of production, check Robert Heilborner’s Worldy Philosophers to verify this), and for Lenin and the Bolsheviks … they put their own spin on it = the dictatorial supremacy of the Communist Party as the vanguard of revolutionary change. State and Revolution • We’ll return to the major themes in State and Revolution which are: (1) the role of the State in society, (2) the necessity of proletarian revolution, and (3) the theoretic inadequacies of social democracy in achieving revolution. • But first I’d like to address the “dictatorship of the proletariat” theme since this is a term often misunderstood. • Marx only makes one reference to this concept in the Gotha Program in which the “dictatorship of the proletariat” refers to a democratic economy = workers are entitled to the surplus value they create. And that’s it! State and Revolution • Lenin, who by the way, never knew Marx, argues that the “dictatorship of the proletariat” means that the Communist Party (as the vanguard of revolutionary change) aims to protect its revolution from counterrevolutionaries so the counterrevolutionaries won’t reverse the gains made by the peasant-worker revolution in Russia and return Russia to its Czarist repressive dictatorial tradition. • Lenin’s not naive … • But to safeguard the revolution, Lenin needs to establish a new repressive dictatorial tradition … • Crazy??? For Lenin, it’s only meant to be temporary until the final stage of communism is achieved (when there is a collective ownership of the means of production). State and Revolution • Whether Lenin has in mind a democratic economy model (workers are co-owners) like Marx’s orientation or a state totalitarian system is not entirely clear. • What is clear, however, is Lenin’s willingness to advance and interpret Marxist-Leninist tradition with, at least as he sees it, the need for a coterie of revolutionaries who will now “police” the revolution. • And of course, Lenin places himself in charge of this arrangement the good of the revolution. • So what does this mean? • Let’s do a little more background. State and Revolution • State and Revolution is considered to be Lenin's most important work on the state and it has been described as Lenin's greatest contribution to political theory. According to David McLellan, a noted Marxist historian, the State and Revolution had its origin in Lenin's argument with Bukharin (a Russian radical anarchist) in the summer of 1916 over the role of the state after the Russian revolution. Bukharin had emphasized the 'withering' away of the state, whereas Lenin insisted on the necessity of a state (government) to enforce revolutionary laws. • Now, knowing this, let’s return to the 3 major themes. (1) Role of the State • Lenin's understanding of the state (government) in Western democracies (majoritarian self-rule) was based on the view that the state was an instrument of elites for the purpose of maintaining class dominance. The state is thus justifies in the use of violence and repression to reinforce the patriarchal dominance of elites. Thus voting in a democracy basically served “to decide once every few years which member of the ruling class is to repress and crush the people through parliament - this is the real essence of bourgeois parliamentarism not only in parliamentary-constitutional monarchies, but also in the most democratic republics." (1) Role of the State • But for Lenin, the state might as well serve the needs of the exploited (majority) class instead of elites. • In fact, a dictatorship of the proletariat is to be preferred to the dictatorship of elites. • The vanguard of the proletariat (communist party) is meant to protect the revolution from an elite counterrevolution. • Do you think Lenin has a point? • Would you be willing to replace a violent and repressive patriarchal dictatorship with a “workers” dictatorship which has the potential to also be repressive and violent? (2) Proletarian Revolution • In this section Lenin investigates theoretical questions about the existence of the state after the proletarian revolution, addressing the arguments of antiauthoritarians, anarchists, social democrats, and reformists, in describing the progressive stages of societal change — the revolution, establishing “the lower stage of communist society” (the socialist commune), and the “higher stage of communist society” that will yield a stable society where personal freedom might be fully expressed. • This is otherwise know as the “workers utopia.” • But do you think this is a “pipe dream”? (3) Inadequacies of Social Democracy • Lenin also points out that (social) democracies are not immune from the tactics of elites in manipulating ideology for their benefit, composing a “revisionist” interpretation of history that reinforces their class domination, and by now befriending hypocritically once vilified revolutionary leaders. • Lenin states: “During the lifetime of great revolutionaries, the oppressing classes constantly hounded them, received their theories with the most savage malice, the most furious hatred, and the most unscrupulous campaigns of lies and slander. State and Rev … • After their deaths, attempts are made to convert them into harmless icons, to canonize them, so to say, and to hallow their names, to a certain extent, for the ‘consolation’ of the oppressed classes, and with the object of duping the latter, while, at the same time, robbing the revolutionary theory of its substance, blunting its revolutionary edge, and vulgarizing it. Today, the bourgeoisie and the opportunists within the labour movement concur in this doctoring of Marxism. State and Rev … • They omit, obscure, or distort the revolutionary side of this theory, its revolutionary soul. They push to the foreground and extol what is, or seems, acceptable to the bourgeoisie. All the social-chauvinists are now ‘Marxists’ (don’t laugh!). And more and more frequently, German bourgeois scholars, only yesterday specialists in the annihilation of Marxism, are speaking of the ‘nationalGerman’ Marx, who, they claim, educated the labour unions, which are so splendidly organized for the purpose of waging a predatory war!” State and Revolution • In State and Revolution Lenin nevertheless, describes the inherent nature of the state as a tool for class oppression, a creation born of a social class’s desire to control the other social classes of its society when politico-economic disputes cannot otherwise be amicably resolved. • Whether a dictatorship or a democracy, the state remains the social-control mechanism of the ruling class. • This is theme is similar to Marx’s German Ideology. State and Revolution • Even in a democratic capitalist republic, the ruling class never relinquish political power, according to Lenin, and thus push the levers of power “behind-the-scenes” as it were — in the name of “freedom and democracy” for their purposes. • Hence, for Lenin, communist revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat is the sole remedy for peasant revolutions. • The role of the state is to maintain a revolutionary status on behalf of the proletariat. State and Revolution • For Lenin, class antagonisms will come to an end, eventually, but only through constant class struggle and finalized in a rigid state dictatorship. • Some thinkers argue that the “class struggle” can be managed … Max Weber, C. Wright Mills, and myself. • And perhaps all of this could be avoided if the state truly served the needs of the people and the state was controlled by the people and not an oligarchy. • Just some thoughts … C . W R I G H T M I L L S ( 1 9 5 6 ) THE POWER ELITE THE POWER ELITE • Background • The Power Elite is a 1956 book by sociologist C. Wright Mills, in which Mills calls attention to the interwoven interests of the leaders of the military, corporate, and political elements of society and suggests that the ordinary citizen is a relatively powerless subject of manipulation by those entities. • The Power Elite framework identifies and analyzes the distribution of “power” in society. • Who possesses it? Who uses it for their benefit? THE POWER ELITE • In other words, these three groups (military, corporate, political) have more power than the average citizen to manipulate democracy for their purposes … • Their rational self interests are prioritized, which may or may not be, optimal for society and other individuals. • Remember, with every public policy decision (international as well), power is the ultimate criterion for getting policies implemented. THE POWER ELITE • The book is a counterpart to Mills' 1951 work, White Collar: The American Middle Classes, which examines the then-growing role of middle managers in American society. • A main inspiration for the book was Franz Leopold Neumann's book Behemoth: The Structure and Practice of National Socialism in 1942, a study of how Nazism came into a position of power in a democratic state like Germany. THE POWER ELITE • Behemoth had a major impact on Mills and he claimed that Behemoth had given him the "tools to grasp and analyze the entire total structure and as a warning of what could happen in a modern capitalist democracy“ (C.Wright Mills, Power, Politics and People, 1963 p.174). • Maybe even here in the USA? • So … the same Power Elite that was the structure for National Socialism is also at play here in the USA. THE POWER ELITE • Summary • According to Mills, the eponymous "power elite" are those that occupy the dominant positions, in the dominant institutions (military, economic and political) of a dominant country, and their decisions (or lack of decisions) have enormous consequences, not only for the U.S. population but, "the underlying populations of the world." THE POWER ELITE • Nota Bene • Eponymous: An eponym is a person, place, or thing after whom or after which something is named, or believed to be named. The adjectives derived from eponym include eponymous and eponymic. THE POWER ELITE • The institutions which The Power Elite head, according to Mills, are a triumvirate of groups that have succeeded weaker predecessors. • They are: THE POWER ELITE • (1) "two or three hundred giant corporations" which have replaced the traditional agrarian and craft economy, • (2) a strong federal political order that has inherited power from "a decentralized set of several dozen states" and "now enters into each and every cranny of the social structure," and … THE POWER ELITE • and (3) the military establishment, formerly an object of "distrust fed by state militia," but now an entity with "all the grim and clumsy efficiency of a sprawling bureaucratic domain." THE POWER ELITE • Importantly, and in distinction from modern American “conspiracy theorists,” Mills explains that the elite themselves may not be aware of their status as an elite, noting that "often they are uncertain about their roles" and "without conscious effort, they absorb the aspiration to be ... The Ones Who Decide." • Nonetheless, he sees them as a quasi-hereditary caste. THE POWER ELITE • But to be clear, Mills rejects the notion that his Power Elite theory is a kin to a conspiracy that he has “uncovered” and “exposed to the light of day.” THE POWER ELITE • For Mills, the Power Elite is an empirical study which can be evaluated like any empirical research. • There is nothing “secretive” about “exposing” the goals and objectives of the Power Elite. • However, there are, and were, some criticisms of his power elite theory. THE POWER ELITE • For example: • Mills' biographer, John Summers, admitted that The Power Elite was "vulnerable to the charge of conspiracy-mongering" but declared that its historical value "seems assured“ John Summers, May 14, 2006). "The Deciders," New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2014. THE POWER ELITE • Another similar example: • Commenting on The Power Elite, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (JFK Administration/Harvard historian) derisively stated, "I look forward to the time when Mr. Mills hands back his prophet's robes and settles down to being a sociologist again.” See John Summers, May 14, 2006, in "The Deciders." New York Times. Retrieved 14 February 2014. THE POWER ELITE • Even Law Schools took some swings at Mills … • A review of the book in the Louisiana Law Review bemoaned that the "practical danger of Mr. Mills' pessimistic interpretation of the current situation is that his readers will concentrate on answering his prejudicial assertions rather than ponder the results of his really formidable research." Calvin Woodard, Louisiana Law Review. Retrieved 14 February 2014. THE POWER ELITE • Whether C. Wright Mills’ interpretation is pessimistic is beside the point. • The question is whether there is some validity to his research and interpretation. • And is his Power Elite theory relevant today? • For example, does the Power Elite theoretical framework apply, specifically as we address the 1% verses the 99%? • Occupy Wall Street? THE POWER ELITE • Nonetheless, consideration of the book has become more favorable over time. In 2006, G. William Domhoff wrote, "Mills looks even better than he did 50 years ago.” G. William Domhoff, "Mills' The Power Elite, 50 Years Later," Contemporary Sociology, 2006. THE POWER ELITE • At any rate … the members of the Power Elite, according to Mills, often enter into positions of societal prominence through educations obtained at Eastern establishment universities like Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. • But, Mills notes, "Harvard or Yale or Princeton is not enough ... the point is not Harvard, but which Harvard?" THE POWER ELITE • Mills identifies two classes of Ivy League alumni, those initiated into an upper echelon fraternity or final club, such as Porcellian and Fly Club, and those who are not. • Those so initiated, Mills continues, receive their invitations based on social links first established in elite private preparatory academies, where they are enrolled as part of antebellum family traditions. • In this manner, the mantle of the elite generally passes through families. THE POWER ELITE • Thus the resulting elites, who control the three dominant institutions (military, economy and political system) can be generally grouped into one of six types, according to Mills: • (1) the "Metropolitan 400" - members of historically notable local families in the principal American cities, generally represented on the Social Register. • (2) "Celebrities" - prominent entertainers and media personalities. • (3) the "Chief Executives" - presidents and CEOs of the most important companies within each industrial sector. THE POWER ELITE • (4) the "Corporate Rich" - major landowners and corporate shareholders. • (5) the "Warlords" - senior military officers, most importantly the Joint Chiefs of Staff. • (6) the "Political Directorate" - "fifty-odd men of the executive branch" of the U.S. federal government, including the senior leadership in the Executive Office of the President, sometimes variously drawn from elected officials of the Democratic and Republican parties but usually professional government bureaucrats. THE POWER ELITE • One of the criticisms of the Power Elite is that it is a “rich white guy club.” • Social justice demands that the club start to include women and minorities. • Do you agree with this? • But would the inclusion of women and minorities into the Power Elite, really change things in society? • Ultimately, would it redistribute power more evenly in society if women and minorities were included as part of the Power Elite? THE POWER ELITE • Or … should the Power Elite arrangement be modified, eliminated, replaced, etc.? • What other viable option is there besides the Power Elite model? Could you construct a different model that might be more democratic? • Here’s a policy rule of thumb that is helpful in analyzing the Power Elite model operative in the USA: • (1) who makes the decisions? • (2) who benefits most? • (3) who bares the cost? THE POWER ELITE • Actually, the Power Elite theory and model identified by C. Wright Mills has been operative throughout history, in one form or another. • The question at hand is whether this model for distributing power useful any longer? • What do you think?
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