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Democracy for the Few Parenti, Michael Publisher:  St. Martin's Press, New York, USA Year Published:  1995   First Published:  1988 Pages:  354pp   Price:  20.50   ISBN:  0-312-05233-2 Resource Type:  Book How does the U.S. political system work and for what purpose? What are the major forces shaping political life and how do they operate? Who governs in the United States? Who gets what, when, how, and why? Who pays and in what ways. These are the central questions investigated in this book. Abstract:  Michael Parenti proposes in Democracy for the Few that the America is not a pluralistic democracy as it is idealized to be. Conversely, he believes it is a plutocracy where an unelected wealthy capitalist class controls both America's social and political institutions, which they use as tools to legitimize their rule and further their interests. Although democratic in name, Parenti believes the structure of capitalism prevents true democratic freedoms from being realized. He emphasizes that what makes a system democratic is not only its procedures, such as voting, but its outputs, such as an equal distribution of wealth. Parenti offers a comprehensive and critical look at the entire capitalist American system. He makes frequent use of references and footnotes to support his arguments. Early chapters are devoted to the historical development of America's political system. From the birth of the American Constitution to the present day, Parenti describes how capitalist interests have trumped the interests of the working class. Later chapters are dedicated to modern American institutions such as Congress and the mass media. He illustrates how these institutions provide the illusion of the possibility of democratic change, while actually working to maintain the status quo. Parenti does admit that there have been some democratic victories in America. However, he stresses they were hard-fought struggles that succeeded despite, and not because of, the current system. Nevertheless, he believes that there are limits to democratic reform because capitalism, by its very structure, is incompatible with democracy. In the end, Parenti suggests that socialism might be the answer. Although he concedes he does not know what kind of socialism is best or how to achieve it, he believes it is necessary to replace the capitalist system with a more democratic system. [Abstracted by Jared Ong] Topics Agricultural Business/Agribusiness Anti-Democratic Ideologies & Structures Black Issues Bureaucracy Business Campaign Financing/Political Capitalism Children Class Conflict/Class Struggle Communism Crime Democracy Discrimination Elections Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Health Care Image Sources Income Disparities Interest Groups Labour Unions Law Lobbying/Lobby Groups Oil Industry Police Political Parties Politics Poor, The Poverty Property Rights vs. Democracy Race & Class Regulatory Affairs Repression Socialism/Case for Taxation U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) U.S. Politics Voting Voting Rights (Suffrage) Wages Women's Issues Working Class

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