Abstracts
Breadth
Depth
References
Recommendations
Date of last update
12/02/2009 16:13:45 -0800
Corporate Expansion and Political Efficacy in the United States: KAM VII (drafts)
Tony E. Hansen
Knowledge Area Module (KAM) for Walden University
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Breadth AbstractThis study will heavily engage the traditional theories as to how they relate or explain capitalism, corporate power and expansion. Thus, the foundation of this literature review is a discussion about the theories presented by Schumpeter, Weber and, Bowman (1989). Each of these theories attempts to describe aspects political institutions in democracy and capitalist economies that impact the development of social and political structures through post modern society. These works present some clear opposing points, but they each provide a set of discussion points that, when reviewed together, can provide an analysis of the potential of capitalism in post modern society. By discerning the traditional approaches along with some current related work, we can determine how these theories have application to the current social structure. Using this path, the literature review considers the perspectives about corporate power and expansion where the foundation in theoretical capitalist traditions will help to focus the formulation and design of the research towards a quantitative study using specific and isolated variables as they relate to each other.
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Depth AbstractThe essay examines how corporations are part of Mills and Domhoff’s concept of power elites and how corporations affect political institutions, globalization, labor and national identity. Given that Bowman (1989) argued that corporations are political and social institutions inseparably from their economic purpose, Pena (2005) and Ramasamy (2006) discuss the affect of growing or expansion of supra-national firms as well as a potential impact upon traditional concepts of government and labor. Globalization is changing the nature of how democratic institutions as well as socialist institutions work in their respective countries. The discussion reviews Glezos (2008) critique of “speed capitalism”. With information and communications advancing rapidly and on-demand production moving at seemingly split second actions, there is an impact upon the political institutions and the viability of those institutions. As well, given the climate towards globalization and the affects upon middle class, corporate expansion without the middle class expansion has to factor into the discussion. These provide critical elements to the discussion about the future of capitalism and socialism as compared to corporate power and political institutions. The next section reviews a proposal that builds a case for another political structure called “cooperativism” by Ratner (2009). The question is begged of whether the direction of more advanced capitalism is towards government or public owned companies of a socialist market as Schumpeter asserts or are we headed towards corporation owned or controlled government. The case for the latter is argued in terms of globalization affects upon governments and nation state legitimacy.
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Application AbstractThis section discusses potential research projects that could be carried out in an attempt to answer the specific questions about corporate power impact upon democratic institutions and attitudes towards current power structures. Understanding these attitudes and potential impacts will help campaign directors build effective messages for campaigns that attempt to increase political efficacy. In addition, policy makers may be able to identify core issues that impact diverse areas of public policy, which may have been ignored given the nurturing of capitalism in the United States. As well, corporations might be able to use the information to be more responsive to their internal employees and the public interests. A bigger theoretical question may be begged by these studies that ask whether corporation power invalidates the concepts of a democratic society if people lose political efficacy while corporations grow. As well, does the movement towards globalization breed more of the so-called hostility between classes on a global scale rather than just a domestic scope where capitalism has been nurtured?
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References:
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