Abstract

Politics by Other Means

The article author believes that the current pessimism as to the ability of the political system in the U.S. to respond to change may reflect a narrow definition of "politics." Especially today, we need to remember that politics covers a much broader area than merely those activities through which the citizens elect representatives to various national, state and local legislative bodies. Therefore, as some continue to fight on the electoral front, it is as important for others to focus directly on the parallel and often unchecked power of those informal and private governments, the large American corporations. This new "movement for corporate responsibility," whose goal is to politicize such corporations, could become the most significant political development of the 1970s.