SOCIOL 1 Lecture 22: Theories and Methods in the Study of Power II
7 Nov 2018
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Lecture #22
Theories and Methods in the Study of Power II
I. Pluralist Theory
A. Pluralists tend to find that names of decision makers come from different groups
based on what type of decision it is
B. Describes many features of American politics
C. Critique
1. Some decisions are more consequential
2. What about all the things that never become decisions?
3. Some study “non-decisions” and “pseudo decisions”
a) Steven Looks Power: A Radical View
b) Non-decisions - not on political radar
(1) Decision about whether to have a capitalist society or
socialists society → not on ballot & never comes up
(2) In the past no one bothered to survey people about
whether they would vote for a woman
c) Pseudo decisions - make a big crisis and then hug battle about
crisis and then back down and “lose”
(1) Ex. child separation
(2) Victory in the sense that something they never dreamed
would happen had to be blocked and rolled back
(3) Pay attention to some things that are extreme but don’t
actually affect balance of forces
4. Anyone can have influence if they are part of the system BUT there are
whole groups that can only get access to system by fighting for it outside
the rules
a) Social movements occur outside of established political system
b) They are the other side of the pluralist model
c) Boundaries of legitimate action are defined by social movement
operating outside political system
II. Marxist/Class Theory
A. Gabriel Kolko Triumph of Conservatism
1. Marxist theory w/ functional aspect
a) Outcomes are good for system
b) System = capitalist system
2. Written about progressive era (late 19th c. to early 20th c.)
a) Public parks and libraries
b) Regulation of food and drugs
3. Shows that unregulated capitalism was destructive for capitalists
a) Unregulated competition kills you
b) Early progressive era (late 19th c.) all major R&R’s desperately
competed
