Rent 9780312138509 | Democracy for the Few | Michael J. Parenti @knetbooks.com

Summary Table of Contents

Parenti's provocative critique of class power within traditional political institutions will arouse classroom debate and introduce students to a unique viewpoint of American capitalism. Unlike most texts on the American political system, DEMOCRACY FOR THE FEW emphasizes the political economy of public policy and who gets what.

... MORE

For Further Reference
Preface	p. vii
Partisan Politics	p. 1
Beyond Textbooks	p. 1
The Politico-Economic System	p. 3
Wealth and Want in the United States	p. 6
Capital and Labor	p. 6
Accumulation and Expansion	p. 8
Who Owns America?	p. 9
Corporate Concentration	p. 11
Monopoly Farming	p. 13
Downsizing and Downgrading	p. 14
Profit-Price Inflation	p. 15
Market Demand and Human Need	p. 16
Productivity: A Mixed Blessing	p. 17
"Desirable" Unemployment	p. 19
The Hardships of Working America	p. 20
The Human Costs of Economic Injustice	p. 23
The Plutocratic Culture: Institutions and Ideologies	p. 28
Rule by Corporate Plutocracy	p. 28
Promoting Ideological Orthodoxy	p. 29
Right, Left, and Center	p. 33
Public Opinion: Which Direction?	p. 37
Democracy: Form and Content	p. 39
A Constitution for the Few	p. 42
Class Power in Early America	p. 42
Containing the Spread of Democracy	p. 44
Fragmenting Majority Power	p. 47
Plotters or Patriots?	p. 49
Democratic Concessions	p. 52
Rise of the Corporate State	p. 55
Serving Business: The Early Years	p. 55
The War against Labor	p. 56
Law in the Service of Business	p. 58
The Not-So-Progressive Era	p. 59
War and Red Scares	p. 60
The New Deal: Hard Times and Tough Reforms	p. 61
Politics: Who Gets What?	p. 67
Welfare for the Rich	p. 67
Federal Bailouts, State and Local Handouts	p. 70
Taxes: Helping the Rich in Their Time of Greed	p. 72
Unkind Cuts, Unfair Rates	p. 74
Deficit Spending and the National Debt	p. 76
Some Hidden Deficits	p. 77
Military Empire and Global Domination	p. 80
A Global Kill Capacity	p. 80
Military Waste and Fraud	p. 82
Pentagon Profits	p. 83
The Military's Hidden Diseconomies	p. 85
Economic Imperialism	p. 85
The Terror State	p. 88
Health, Environment, and Human Services: Sacrificial Lambs	p. 95
The Poor Get Less (and Less)	p. 95
Social Insecurity: Privatizing Everything	p. 97
How Much Health Can You Afford?	p. 98
Buyers Beware, and Workers Too	p. 101
Creating Crises: Schools and Housing	p. 102
"Mess Transit": What's Good for General Motors	p. 104
Toxifying the Earth	p. 106
Eco-Apocalypse	p. 108
Government for the Despoilers	p. 110
Unequal before the Law	p. 118
Crime in the Suites	p. 118
Class Law	p. 122
The "Tough on Crime" Craze	p. 123
The Crime of Prisons	p. 125
The Guilty Innocent	p. 126
Sexist Justice	p. 128
The Victimization of Children	p. 130
Bedroom Police	p. 131
Racist Law Enforcement	p. 132
Political Repression and National Insecurity	p. 139
The Repression of Dissent	p. 139
Political Prisoners, USA	p. 142
Political Murder, USA	p. 147
Cozy with Right-Wing Violence	p. 149
The National Security Autocracy	p. 151
CIA: Capitalism's International Army or Cocaine Import Agency?	p. 155
Watergate and Iran-Contra	p. 157
Who Governs? Elites, Labor, and Globalization	p. 164
The Ruling Class	p. 164
Labor Besieged	p. 168
Unions and the Good Fight	p. 170
Globalization, WTO, and the End of Democracy	p. 171
Mass Media: For the Many, by the Few	p. 178
He Who Pays the Piper	p. 178
The Ideological Monopoly	p. 182
Official Manipulation	p. 184
Political Entertainment	p. 187
Room for Alternatives?	p. 189
Elections, Parties, and Voters	p. 194
Republicrats and Demopublicans	p. 194
The Two-Party Monopoly	p. 197
Proportional Representation: Making Every Vote Count	p. 198
Rigging the Game	p. 200
Money: A Necessary Condition	p. 203
The Struggle to Vote	p. 207
Voter "Apathy" and Participation	p. 211
Democratic Input	p. 214
Congress: The Pocketing of Power	p. 218
A Congress for the Money	p. 218
Lobbyists: The Other Lawmakers	p. 221
Grassroots Lobbying	p. 224
Helping Themselves: The Varieties of Corruption	p. 225
A Special-Interest Committee System	p. 228
Security, Secrecy, and Fast Track	p. 230
The Legislative Labyrinth	p. 232
Term Limits	p. 235
A Touch of Democracy	p. 237
The President: Guardian of the System	p. 241
Salesman of the System	p. 241
The Two Faces of the President	p. 244
The President's Systemic Role	p. 248
A Loaded Electoral College	p. 250
The "New Federalism" Ploy	p. 252
The Growth of Presidential Power	p. 252
The Would-Be King	p. 254
The Conservative Context	p. 257
The Political Economy of Bureaucracy	p. 262
The Myth and Reality of Inefficiency	p. 262
Deregulation and Privatization	p. 265
Secrecy, Deception, and Corruption	p. 269
Bureaucratic Action and Inaction	p. 272
Serving the "Regulated"	p. 274
Public Authority in Private Hands	p. 277
Monopoly Regulation versus Public-Service Regulation	p. 279
The Supremely Political Court	p. 283
Who Judges?	p. 283
Conservative Judicial Activism	p. 286
Circumventing the First Amendment	p. 289
Freedom for Revolutionaries?	p. 290
As the Court Turns	p. 292
Influence of the Court	p. 300
Democracy for the Few	p. 306
Pluralism for the Few	p. 306
The Limits of Reform	p. 309
Democracy as Class Struggle	p. 311
The Roles of the State	p. 314
What Is to Be Done?	p. 316
The Reality of Public Production	p. 321
Index	p. 329
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

RENT TEXTBOOKS

Democracy for the Few

Why Rent from Knetbooks?

Top 5 reasons to order all your textbooks from Knetbooks:

Related Products