They Rule

Paul Street is an urban social policy researcher and teacher in Chicago. He writes regularly for Z Magazine and Black Commentator. His books include Barack Obama and the Future of American Politics (2009) and Empire and Inequality (2005).

"In They Rule, Street's canvas is larger than those of his earlier books, which focused on Obama and on the Tea Party. Here, he takes a step back. Rather than documenting Obama's betrayals of liberal hopes or deconstructing the American right, he asks how the political system that produced both an Obama and a Tea Party came to be during four decades of neoliberal rule. To build his case, he marshals an impressive array of social science research and Marxist-influenced analysis." —socialistworker.org “Paul Street is the most acute observer and insightful analyst of the 'Obama Phenomena.' This book gets beneath the political smoke and mirrors to reveal the pervasive rule of big money that drives the American Empire and global capitalist economy. Street’s courageous truth-telling is the pre-condition for a massive radical democratic movement.” —Cornel West, Union Theological Seminary “Powerful, provocative, serious--and also a good read! Paul Street moves the ball forcefully down the field in the direction of systemic change. A serious, useful, and well-written and well-researched guide to the challenges we face and the genuine options we have as American corporate capitalism and its politics continue to decay.” —Gar Alperovitz, author of What Then Must We Do? Straight Talk about the Next American Revolution and Co-Founder of the Democracy Collaborative “In They Rule, Paul Street faces up to the critical task of our times--showing people the reality of the world they live in. The US is a nation of historic myths and daily deceptions in the corporate media. In looking at elections, the media, and a whole host of issues, he demonstrates how Americans are repeatedly misled. We are told the government is doing one thing, when more often than not it is doing the opposite. We're going to war for democracy-- not for oil, resources, and global hegemony; ObamaCare is to provide healthcare for all--not ObamaCare massively subsidies insurance companies and leaves tens of millions without insurance and all but the wealthiest with inadequate insurance. These are two examples of many where Street lifts the veil so readers can see the truth. After showing people reality, Street lays out an agenda for a democratized economy and participatory democracy that are the antidotes to concentrated wealth and elections managed by the wealthiest for Wall Street and other big business interests. If you want to understand the world and what you can do about it, They Rule is a good place to start.” —Kevin Zeese, Co-Director of Popular Resistance and an organizer of the Occupation of Washington, DC at Freedom Plaza “Like the ‘magic sunglasses’ in John Carpenter’s ‘They Live,’ this important book reveals and decodes the profoundly undemocratic nature of our neoliberal capitalist system. They Rule not only documents how the wealthiest strata of society have effectively controlled the agenda of American politics but explains the myriad of ways in which that rule is reinforced through the institutions of daily life. Paul Street has written a compelling clarion call to readers –to the American people—to join the growing movement of democratic transformation.” —Ted Morgan, Lehigh University “Politics is at its most dangerous when it makes power invisible. They Rule is a brilliant analysis of how power works under neoliberal capitalism. It uncovers the multiple layers of repression and its machineries of economic and social death in the US and at the same time provides a discourse of resistance, hope, and possibility. If you are interested in what it means to understand not only the workings of totalitarianism, but the possibility of a radical democracy, this is the one book you should read immediately.” —Henry A. Giroux, McMaster University

• Introduction John Carpenter's Magic Sunglasses and the Real Choice Chapter 1 They Own the Place Scenes from America's Unelected Dictatorship, 2009-2013 Chapter 2 Richistan and the Rest of Us The Second Gilded Age and Why It Matters Chapter 3 Political Economy How They Got So Rich Chapter 4 Dismantling Domestic Development The Global Age of Finance Chapter 5 How They Rule The Many Modes of Moneyed Class Power Chapter 6 No Crystal Ball On What Might and Must Be Don