All of these stories were about a study by political scientists Martin Gilens of Princeton and Benjamin Page of Northwestern, modestly titled, “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.”
Their conclusion was explosive: “Economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.”
The paper soon went viral as proof that America is an “oligarchy” (the press’s term, not theirs) where the views of the rich control what happens and the views of the middle class are ignored.
From: Remember that study saying America is an oligarchy? 3 rebuttals say it’s wrong. – Vox
Vox’s gimmick is reporting the counter-intuitive, conventional-wisdom-turned-on-its-head “insight” of someone (often Yglesias or his fellow Voxxers) with slick graphics, and I’ve not noticed that in so doing they are correct any more than the machinations of chance would suggest.
Consequently, the appropriate reaction to Vox’s headline (suggesting that those of us who have fretted about an oligarchical takeover of our government might actually relax about that concern) would be to deepen one’s concern that there has, in fact, been an oligarchical takeover of our government.Report
Well you could pitch that idea to Slate.Report
Slate-
“Why Oligarchy Is A Good Thing, In 3 Charts”Report
This is a pretty spot-on description of the problems with the Gilens-Page paper. The media have been eating it up because it told then what they wanted to hear, but I’ve seen it getting ripped hard across the ideological spectrum for its questionable data analysis. The paper itself was weak, and the credulous media coverage has been absolutely atrocious.Report
The media fell in lockstep credulity because they are all owned by a tiny handful of elites.Report
So the elites commanded the media to hype a study that exposed their control over the political process?Report
The vox article had a lot of “middle class and rich got their way nearly the same amount” kinda writing. But it’s the policy implementation that’s the real driver, and that’s where money can be used most effectively.Report