Domhoff researches conspiracies whether he admits it or not

The owners and managers of large banks and corporations, with a little bit of help from their hired academics, lawyers, and public relations people, dominate everything in this country that is worth dominating — foreign policy through such organizations as the Council on Foreign Relations, Council of the Americas, and Trilateral Commission; economic policy through the likes of the Conference Board, Committee for Economic Development, and Brookings Institution; population policy through such groups as the Population Council, Population Reference Bureau, and Planned Parenthood; environmental policy through Resources for the Future, Conservation Foundation, and American Conservation Association; legal policies through the American Law Institute and committees of the American Bar Association; and educational policy through such entities as the Ford Foundation, three Carnegie foundations, and the Carnegie Council for Policy Studies in Higher Education. Every one of these organizations is financed and directed by the same few thousand men who run the major banks and corporations, and every one of them is pivotal on governmental policy in its area of specialization.

— G. William Domhoff, in response to a review of his book The Bohemian Grove and Other Retreats, New York Review of Books, July 17, 1975

Terry Melanson

Webmaster/editor of Conspiracy Archive; author of Perfectibilists: the 18th Century Bavarian Order of the Illuminati.

2 Responses

  1. Will B says:

    Yes. I quite agree, though I think he still makes some useful and valid observations about how the power-elite works, in his “There are no conspiracies” essay. But he is too hasty in excluding from his calculus the moral vanity of the super-rich and well-connected who want to be more than merely rich, but want to change the world. And underestimates the capacity of persuasive advisers to shape the opinions of their moneyed masters…

  2. Valid observations for sure. I value the points of view of a variety of scholars on the power elite, always taking into account where their motivations for their opinions on the facts lie – right-wing, left-wing, libertarian, marxist, anarchist, etc. A primary source is a primary source, however. That is my ultimate aim in investigating anything in history, no matter who initially made me aware of it.

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