Dr. Richard Harris published an article in The Forum: Journal of Applied Research in Contemporary Politics, Spring 2013
Does “Too Big to Fail” Signal the Triumph of Business Power
Abstract: This essay explores the concern that in contemporary American Politics, business exercises outsized and historically unprecedented influence. Focusing on the largest sector of our economy, the banking industry, the analysis tracks the systematic, purposeful, and bipartisan deregulation of the financial services industry from the Carter Administration thorough the 2008 financial col- lapse. The claim of business hegemony is examined from an historical/institutional perspective and placed in the context of political science theory, and the conclusion is that while business, represented in this case by the “too big to fail” banks, enjoys significant organizational and structural advantages, business power is both variable and contingent rather than fixed and hegemonic.