LEADER 04055nam 2200733 a 450 001 9910785049103321 005 20230207213544.0 010 $a1-282-67931-7 010 $a9786612679315 010 $a0-226-76465-6 024 7 $a10.7208/9780226764658 035 $a(CKB)2670000000033514 035 $a(EBL)557586 035 $a(OCoLC)648760854 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000411640 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11250315 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000411640 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10355138 035 $a(PQKB)10461706 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC557586 035 $a(DE-B1597)535495 035 $a(OCoLC)748360758 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780226764658 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL557586 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10402622 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL267931 035 $a(EXLCZ)992670000000033514 100 $a20000201d2000 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aAmerican business and political power$b[electronic resource] $epublic opinion, elections, and democracy /$fMark A. Smith 210 $aChicago $cUniversity of Chicago Press$dc2000 215 $a1 online resource (259 p.) 225 1 $aStudies in communication, media, and public opinion 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a0-226-76462-1 311 $a0-226-76464-8 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 223-235) and index. 327 $aIntroduction -- Business unity and its consequences for representative democracy -- Identifying business unity -- A portrait of unifying issues -- Public opinion, elections, and lawmaking -- Overt sources of business power -- Structural sources of business power -- The role of business in shaping public opinion -- The compatibility of business unity and popular sovereignty. 330 $aMost people believe that large corporations wield enormous political power when they lobby for policies as a cohesive bloc. With this controversial book, Mark A. Smith sets conventional wisdom on its head. In a systematic analysis of postwar lawmaking, Smith reveals that business loses in legislative battles unless it has public backing. This surprising conclusion holds because the types of issues that lead businesses to band together-such as tax rates, air pollution, and product liability-also receive the most media attention. The ensuing debates give citizens the information they need to hold their representatives accountable and make elections a choice between contrasting policy programs. Rather than succumbing to corporate America, Smith argues, representatives paradoxically become more responsive to their constituents when facing a united corporate front. Corporations gain the most influence over legislation when they work with organizations such as think tanks to shape Americans' beliefs about what government should and should not do. 410 0$aStudies in communication, media, and public opinion. 606 $aBusiness and politics$zUnited States 606 $aPublic opinion$zUnited States 606 $aPower (Social sciences)$zUnited States 606 $aPressure groups$zUnited States 606 $aLobbying$zUnited States 610 $ademocracy, elections, public opinion, campaigning, lobbying, corporations, legislation, special interest, taxation, pollution, product liability, media, news, journalism, policy, accountability, think tanks, business, politics, political science, power, pressure groups, popular sovereignty, coalition, chamber of commerce, nonfiction. 615 0$aBusiness and politics 615 0$aPublic opinion 615 0$aPower (Social sciences) 615 0$aPressure groups 615 0$aLobbying 676 $a322/.3/0973 700 $aSmith$b Mark A$g(Mark Alan),$f1970-$01465370 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910785049103321 996 $aAmerican business and political power$93787001 997 $aUNINA