The Politics of Power A Critical Introduction to American Government

by Katznelson, Ira; Kesselman, Mark; Draper, Alan

ISBN13: 9780155016989

ISBN10: 0155016989

Format: Paperback

Pub. Date: 2001-10-01

Publisher(s): Wadsworth Publishing

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Summary

This text provides a comprehensive description of the American political system, including major political institutions, processes, and policies. Unlike other introductory American politics textbooks, it develops a critical analysis of how American democracy is limited by fundamental inequalities in power and economic resources. The book highlights the connections between American politics and the organization of the economy. This fourth edition retains the author's critical perspective, describing American politics during the Clinton presidency and policy changes initiated in the Bush presidency.

Democracy's Challenge	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Titanic Inequalities	p. 4
Democracy and Capitalism	p. 8
Standards of Democracy	p. 10
Change, and More Change	p. 14
Conclusion	p. 18
Introduction to American Political Economy	p. 21
Global Capitalism and American Politics	p. 27
Introduction	p. 27
The System of Capitalism	p. 28
The Mobilization of Bias	p. 35
Corporate Capitalism	p. 39
Who Owns America's Private Government?	p. 44
The Professionalization of Capital	p. 45
The Structure of Employment	p. 48
Conflict and Cohesion	p. 51
The Unstable Character of Capitalism	p. 54
The Current Situation	p. 56
Conclusion	p. 59
The American State and Corporate Capitalism	p. 61
Introduction	p. 61
The First Wave of Expansion	p. 64
Stagnation and Challenge	p. 65
The Second Wave of Expansion	p. 67
Corporate Capitalism Unravels	p. 68
A New Deal	p. 70
The Road Not Taken	p. 72
Conservative Keynesianism	p. 74
The Golden Age of Capitalism	p. 75
Economic Policy Making	p. 7
Fiscal Policy	p. 78
The Budget Process	p. 81
Monetary Policy	p. 84
The End of the Golden Age of Capitalism	p. 87
Reaganomics	p. 88
Clintonomics	p. 90
The Global Marketplace	p. 92
Conclusion	p. 95
The Many Faces of Political Participation	p. 99
Movement for Change: Workers and Work	p. 101
Introduction	p. 101
Work Transformed: The Decline of the Independent Middle Class	p. 104
Creating Unions	p. 107
The Growth and Decline of Unions	p. 112
Future Labor Prospects	p. 122
Social Movements and Democratic Citizenship	p. 126
Conclusion	p. 130
Political Parties, Elections, and Movements	p. 133
Introduction	p. 133
The Disappearing American Voter	p. 135
Party Systems	p. 138
A Two-Party System	p. 139
Critical Elections	p. 141
Party Decay	p. 142
The Decline of Party Organization	p. 144
Party Structure and Orientation	p. 145
Money and Elections	p. 148
The PAC Phenomenon	p. 153
Media and Elections	p. 156
Political Consultants	p. 158
The Rise and Fall of the New Deal Coalition	p. 160
A New Republican Party	p. 162
A Magical Mystery Tour: the 2000 Presidential Election	p. 164
Contemporary Party Coalitions	p. 168
A Postelectoral Era?	p. 172
Conclusion	p. 174
Political Institutions	p. 177
The Presidency: Imperial or Imperiled?	p. 181
Introduction	p. 181
The Historical Presidency	p. 185
The Imperial President?	p. 188
The Imperiled President	p. 193
Presidential Styles	p. 196
Bill Clinton as President	p. 198
The Exercise of Presidential Power	p. 200
The President's Response: End-Running the Bureaucracy	p. 211
Behind the Velvet Glove	p. 214
Conclusion	p. 215
Congress	p. 217
Introduction	p. 217
The Origins of Congress	p. 220
The Historical Congress	p. 228
Congress as a Career	p. 232
Money and Congressional Elections	p. 233
Safe Seats and Turnover	p. 235
Members of Congress	p. 237
The Legislative Process	p. 242
How a Bill Becomes Law	p. 243
The Senate	p. 247
The House of Representatives	p. 253
Congress, the Bureaucracy, and Interest Groups	p. 259
Lobbying and Congress	p. 261
Conclusion	p. 263
The Judiciary	p. 265
Introduction	p. 265
Politics and the Law	p. 269
A Dual Court System	p. 270
The Law and the Development of American Capitalism	p. 278
The Supreme Court in History	p. 280
The Modern Court: From Warren to Rehnquist	p. 285
Politics by Lawsuit	p. 292
Conclusion	p. 294
Public Policy	p. 297
Corporate Capitalism, Foreign Policy, and the Global Political Economy	p. 299
Introduction	p. 299
American Foreign Policy Before World War II	p. 302
Cold War Rivalry	p. 304
Global Expansion and the Invisible Empire	p. 306
A New Era of Globalization?	p. 308
Globalization and Multinational Corporations	p. 311
Multinational Corporations	p. 315
The Military Establishment	p. 316
Political and Economic Influence	p. 319
The Military-Industrial Complex	p. 319
Foreign Policy in the Post--Cold War Era	p. 323
Rationalizing and Restructuring American Military Dominance	p. 325
The New Global Economy: Whose Globalization?	p. 328
Promoting Democracy Abroad	p. 332
Conclusion	p. 334
The Welfare State	p. 335
Introduction	p. 335
The Historical Welfare State	p. 342
The New Deal	p. 343
Conservative and Liberal Welfare States	p. 347
Beyond the New Deal	p. 349
The Great Society and Its Backlash	p. 355
Clinton Democrats and the Welfare State	p. 361
Conclusion	p. 364
Conclusion: American Politics, Past, Present, and Future	p. 367
Introduction	p. 367
The Reagan Revolution?	p. 369
The New Politics of Inequality	p. 370
The Clinton-Gore Administration: Bold Centrism or Broken Compact?	p. 372
The Compassionate Conservatism of the Bush Presidency	p. 381
Conclusion	p. 384
Credits	p. 385
Index	p. 387
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The Politics of Power A Critical Introduction to American Government

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