Publisher Prentice-Hall Pages 288 pp OCLC 256506 | Publication date 1967 Originally published 1967 Country United States of America | |
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Similar G William Domhoff books, Elite books | ||
Who Rules America? is a book by psychologist and sociologist G. William Domhoff, first published in 1967 and updated in 2000 and 2009, that argues against the concentration of power and wealth in the American upper class. The 2010 edition brings the discussion up to date and also includes the rise of Barack Obama, his campaign finance supporters, and the nature of his administration.
Domhoff argues in the book that a power elite wields power in America through its support of think-tanks, foundations, commissions, and academic departments. Additionally, he argues that the elite controls institutions through overt authority, not through covert influence.
In his introduction, Domhoff writes that the book was inspired by the work of four men: sociologists E. Digby Baltzell, C. Wright Mills, economist Paul Sweezy, and political scientist Robert A. Dahl.