Who Rules America?, 8th Edition

“Domhoff has been the master chronicler of power in America for decades. Who Rules America is a great American classic, indispensable reading for every American citizen. In this edition, Domhoff shows how the capitalist class is becoming even more powerful in our age of authoritarian peril, offering the definitive analysis of the tyranny of big money and the path to true democracy.”

Charles Derber, Boston College, co-author of Dying For Capitalism and Who Owns Democracy?

“The various editions of G. William Domhoff’s Who Rules America have been the definitive text on the power of the 1% corporate rich, their impact upon government policy, and the limits they impose on real democracy. Domhoff shows that while their ultimate power never wavers, they face various constraints which force them to adapt differently at each historical moment. Domhoff’s fundamental thesis has never become obsolete because he continually revises it in response to new circumstances. His latest edition is essential reading for understanding how White nationalists within the 99% have become simultaneous allies and foes of the always dominant corporate 1%.”

Yale Magrass, Chancellor Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, co-author of Glorious Causes, Bully Nation, and Who Owns Democracy

“Domhoff exposes an America that few are taught about in school. A nation where wealthy and corporate interests have effectively controlled economic policies since 1938… Domhoff’s teachings in Who Rules America? are more relevant than ever in 2022.”

Randy Shaw, “Who Rules America? Corporate and Wealthy Interests Still Reign”, Beyond Chron

G. William (Bill) Domhoff is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In addition to previous editions of this book, he is the author or co-author of 20 other books on power and diversity in the United States, including The Higher Circles (1970), The Powers That Be (1979), Jews in the Protestant Establishment (1982, with Richard L. Zweigenhaft), The Power Elite and the State (1990), Blacks in the White Elite (2003, with Richard L. Zweigenhaft), The Leftmost City (2009, with Richard Gendron), Class and Power in the New Deal (2011, with Michael J. Webber), and Diversity in the Power Elite (2018, with Richard L. Zweigenhaft). Most recently, he searched over two dozen archives to write The Corporate Rich and the Power Elite in the Twentieth Century (2020).