Who Rules #America?

William Domhoff in 2010 suggested in his book “Who Rules America? Challenges to Corporate and Class Dominance” that it was Corporations and Charles Perrow in his book, “Organizing America: Wealth, Power And The Origins Of Corporate Capitalism man shows how American corporations are and became the dominant and overarching force/feature in America. 

Today the question is:

Who Rules Corporations, if they rule/d America?  China, which will be the focus of one of my research papers and project as I study Neoliberalism, Globalization, Income Inequality, Poverty And Resistance. The study will suggest China for reasons we must discuss and present in further detail why we have made or come to such an assertion. 

Firstly, America’s political and economic system provides a salacious opportunity for China who is a totalitarian, so-called communist country with a State-Controlled economy and press. So, the ability to quickly and easily make decisions without dissection and to achieve goals are less complicated and cumbersome. It is therefore easy to will the country towards achieving a particular goal of let’s say world dominantion or leadership. 

Secondly, China understands America from

Careful study and is able to develop and abide by a strategy that takes advantage of that knowledge.

Thirdly, Max Weber, who is one of the most influential figures in the development of western modern society and provided the theoretical understanding behind said society, defined Capitalism as being driven by the Protestant ethic - hard work and savings….

Today America has moved on from that ethic so that it’s Capitalism is about nepotism and greed. This is what Robert Jackall, in his book “ Moral Mazes” is concluding after conducting a research study using interviews among 100 managers in various companies. 

Indeed, China is aware of this evolution or change. They understand that America is about individualism, mixed in with selfishness, greed and nepotism and “…connectionism…” (Walter Licht, Economic Historian, Upenn), and the ability to satisfy that Corporate and individual greed is what will take to reposition itself as the new super power. 

Moreover, recently the NBA acquiesced to China’s demands so as to recover the billions it’s had lost when China had pulled the NBA’s business out of China. Suddenly the NBA fight against justice gave way to greed and their ability to make more money. China is aware of this and it’s structure and unilateral power to make decisions in china is a powerful partner for any client to want to have. China can easily create a market for any product given its economic and political system of governance. 

Actually, recently my twin brother sent me a twitter video post of an excerpt of Bill Maher HBO show where he also assert, using comedy, that China rules America. According to the tweet: “When a country can make your big muscled, macho man action stars grovel in their language, you know you're somebody's bitch” (Bill Maher, twitter/billmaher). In fact he posted the excerpt of the show regarding this issue on twitter. Please follow the link below for the videos: https://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1495914694715969537?s=21

Therefore, what’s the solution to all of this? Maybe it is to let China be China and the US be the US. But it cannot be that we should protect our leadership and dominance, because America does not want to lead anymore. In fact the leadership at the center is softening according to Hillary Clinton in 2012 so that there is no one dominant country. All the Presidents from Obama to Biden seem to be teetering towards more of a partnership than any one dominant or leading power which is an old and hegemonic way of constructing a world since our values have changed, or have they? If truth be told while we seek for partnerships instead of leadership, what we may have today or is occurring and developing is a global elitism where a group of people across countries are the dominant figures. 

These arguments would then lead to the questions as to whether we are too myopic and naïve thinking that our political/economic system provides safety and is exceptional when we have made changes to our capitalism that has facilitated an opening, and whether this is on of necessity and or strategy given the move towards American greed and retreat, Chinese dominance, partnerships instead of leadership and or global elitism.

But who is righteous here  is it those who are less evil? But who determines what’s less… the subjects or the objects? 

We will continue to develop and work on this paper/article. Tune in to The NeoLiberal Round Podcast for audio recordings of the podcast on this subject The Neoliberal Round Podcast Episode: Who Rules America. And for copies of my book you can get signed copies directly from me at Renaldo McKenzie