U.S. policy responds to elites and interest groups, not the public.
Evidence
These results suggest that reality is best captured by mixed theories in which both individual economic elites and organized interest groups (including corporations, largely owned and controlled by wealthy elites) play a substantial part in affecting public policy, but the general public has little or no independent inο¬uence. β Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, Testing Theories of American Politics, 93
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Average citizens have little independent influence on U.S. policy relative to economic elites. β Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, Testing Theories of American Politics:β¦, 1; Economic elites dominate US policy while average citizens exert little influence β Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, Testing Theories of American Politics:β¦, 11; Average citizens have almost no independent influence over U.S. policy. β Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, Testing Theories of American Politics:β¦, 90 (+11 more)
Broader Connections
- Ordinary citizens hold little independent influence over U.S. policy
#expands(0.95) - U.S. policy outcomes contradict majority preferences whenever elites or organized interests disagree
#expands(0.92) - Interest groups shape policy independent of citizen and elite preferences.
#expands(0.90) β Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, Testing Theories of American Politics, 113 - Interest groups do not amplify majority policy preferences; business groups dominate despite opposing them.
#corroborates(0.90) β Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, Testing Theories of American Politics, 125 - Correlated elite and mass preferences do not reflect citizen influence on policy.
#corroborates(0.88) β Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, Testing Theories of American Politics, 135 - Citizens can win policies without influencing them when elites agree.
#qualifies(0.85) β Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, Testing Theories of American Politics, 75 - U.S. political institutions structurally hinder majority-driven policy change.
#expands(0.85) β Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, Testing Theories of American Politics, 106