The Powell Memo 1971: How Corporations Took Over American Politics - Robert Reich

[appalachiablue]

Last edited Sat Dec 17, 2022, 07:25 PM - Edit history (1)

- Inequality Media, Dec. 2022. - The Worst Memo in American History Came from Lewis Powell, RR, Joplin Globe, 8.15. 22. ..We almost take for granted big corporate money in American politics. But it started with the Powell memo. In 1971, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce asked Lewis Powell, then an attorney in Richmond, Va., (& future Supreme Court justice) to report on the political activities of the left. The Chamber (along with some prominent Republicans like Powell) worried about the left’s effects on “free enterprise.” Powell’s memo argued that the American economic system was “under broad attack” from consumer, labor & environmental groups. In reality, these groups were doing nothing more than enforcing the implicit social contract that had emerged at the end of World War II — ensuring that corporations were responsive to all their stakeholders, not just their shareholders but also their workers, their consumers, & the environment.

Powell urged businesses to mobilize for political combat. “Business must learn the lesson ... that political power is necessary; that such power must be assiduously cultivated; and that when necessary, it must be used aggressively and with determination — without embarrassment & without the reluctance which has been so characteristic of American business.” - He stressed that the critical ingredients for success were organization & funding. “Strength lies in … the scale of financing available only through joint effort, & in the political power available only through united action & national organizations.” On Aug. 23, 1971, the Chamber distributed Powell’s memo to leading CEOs, large businesses, & trade associations. It had exactly the impact the Chamber sought — galvanizing corporate America into action & releasing a tidal wave of corporate money into American politics.

An entire corporate-political industry was born — including 10s of thousands of corporate lobbyists, lawyers, political operatives & public relations flaks. Within a few decades, big corporations would become the largest political force in Washington & most state capitals.

Washington went from being a rather sleepy if not seedy town to the glittering center of corporate America. I saw it & lived it. In 1976, I began working at the Federal Trade Commission. Jimmy Carter had appointed consumer advocates to some regulatory positions..Yet almost everything we initiated at the FTC, & just about everything undertaken by these activists elsewhere in the administration, was met by unexpectedly fierce political resistance from Congress.. I was dumbfounded. What had happened? Powell’s memo. The number of corporations with public affairs offices in Wash. had ballooned from 100 in 1968 to more than 500 by the time I joined the FTC in 1976...Never in the history of American politics has one document had such nefarious consequences... https://www.joplinglobe.com/opinion/robert-reich-the-worst-memo-in-american-history-came-from-lewis-article_6d2838f4-1cc8-11ed-a155-cb3e6b46cf36.html
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- 1974 Charles Koch Speech: “Anti-Capitalism & Big Business” & How the Powell Memo Did Not Go Far Enough. Charles Koch claimed that “business has consciously assisted the government in destroying the free market.” This speech was given during the 2nd term of Republican President Richard M. Nixon, a few months before he resigned in disgrace... https://kochdocs.org/2019/06/07/charles-koch-anti-capitalism-big-business/
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- The Lewis Powell Memo: Corporate Blueprint to Dominate Democracy. PRWatch Ed. Aug. 25, 2011. The Center for Media & Democracy is reposting a new in-depth report by Greenpeace's Charlie Cray about the corporate blueprint, known as the "Powell memo," for the "corporate takeover" of public institutions through the creation of entities like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). This is part of CMD's effort to report on and gather reporting about these activities through our ALECexposed.org work. This story was originally published by Greenpeace.
https://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/08/10984/lewis-powell-memo-corporate-blueprint-dominate-democracy

[underpants]

1. The Powell Memo is a very influential moment

Powell didn’t discuss media much but I’ve always thought Murdoch and Ailes took this as a blueprint.

[appalachiablue]

2. That's possible, perfect media match for this movement.