Dark Money: how a secretive group of billionaires is trying to buy political control in the US

I was fortunate to study both Western & Eastern bloc Economics and Politics at Oxford 1971 to 1975 and to practice as an Economist (and Environmental Analyst) for Lucas Industries in the late 1970s, before turning away from Economics to Management Development - as the former had no respect or interest in Environment or Climate Change -and the latter was slightly open to development of sustainability-based Environmental Management. Jane Mayer, imv, correctly suggests that 'The late 1960s and the early 1970s were in fact a daunting time for corporate America and for those living off great corporate fortunes.' (p 74) and 'Income in America during the mid 1970s was as equally distributed as at any time in the country's history.' (p 75). If you turned your back in the late 1970s, as I did, to focus on pioneering and developing sustainability-based Environmental Management, you might possibly, as I regret I did, continue to think that the post-War economic and political settlements in favor of regulated capitalism in the UK and probably the US had continued, albeit there were some weird and disturbing noises off-stage. Naomi Klein gave a sense of 'something very bad this way came' in her expose of Milton Friedman's leadership of Chicago University's Economics faculty - and his development of a cadre of economists to revive world-wide the tenets of 19th century totally uncontrolled monopoly capitalism, in her 'Shock Doctrine' in 2007. While horrendous, astonishing and enlightening and recommended to colleagues and students, this did not really help me understand nearly as much as the much more recent work including by George Monbiot, Naomi Klein in her 'This Changes Everything' and Nancy MacLean in her 2017 'Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America' and now in Jane Mayer's 'Dark Money'. Taken together, these allows us to see what was previously invisible - the vast, secret, multi-faceted, several decade counter-revolution from the extreme Right, much of which dates back to Austrian economists Frederick Hayek and von Mises' setting up of the Mount Pelerin society immediately post-WW2 - to re-shape government and societal agendas and cultures - which they have done very successfully. Jane Mayer subtitled Dark Money 'How a secretive group of billionaires is trying to buy political control in the US'. She considerably extends Nancy Maclean's gripping expose of the seemingly Koch-funded life-time academic project of James Buchanan, to develop creative means of turning back the clock on politics and economics to the pre-War and 19th century unmanaged free-market. monopolistic capitalism eras. It looks like the apparently deliberately undisclosed Mt. Pelerin/ Hayek/ Mises/ Friedman/ Buchanan multi-faceted, imv dangerously anti-environmental and anti-Climate Change projects and much more, where they have not been subject to democratic scrutiny ... have been relatively successful. Jane Mayer 's new book (2016 in the US) provides considerable help in understanding the whole arc of the post Second World War era. Through no fault of their own, she helps understand how it has probably been mis-taken by the majorities in the electorates on either side of the Atlantic until about this second decade of this century. She not only helps expose some of the reasons for the failure to get to grips with both environmental and Climate Change science and risks, but she helps expose further the recharging of monopoly capitalism over the last probably five decades. She helps make sense of the fairly newly mentioned 'not 1% but 0.1%' as being the nature of the elites who are being alleged to be pulling the strings - a perception that these authors help one to understand. Jane, Naomi, Nancy Maclean and George Monbiot even by what they alone have researched and written - have brought into the daylight what some deep pockets seem to have been backing since shortly after Hayek and Mises began what some have described as a then seemingly impossible task. Taking up arms against 'liberal' economics and politics, which seemed to have totally triumphed after the second World War and the preceding Great Crash. While there may have been some real material benefits for the 'ordinary working man' in say the Thatcher/ Reagan period, the costs of the hidden Counter-revolution since have, in my understanding, been difficult to even begin to understand, and I think will increase in perceived price as ecological and climate damage impacts further and the damage to the common culture democratic societies is increasingly perceived. Mayer and publisher Scribe quote Naomi Klein on her front cover, seemingly appropriately: 'Utterly brilliant and chilling.'

Think this is essential reading. V well written.

Mayer reveals why critical issues such as medical care and climate change fade to the background as the super-rich exploit their positions and wealth to protect their own interests. Very interesting book, definitely more interesting angles given the recent election. For example, exposes the hypocrisy of a key player within American interests (Koch family), whose wealth originates from constructing oil refineries for the Soviet Union. This is just one of the many bombshells revealed that is clouded by the insidious narrative of political advertising and biased reporting. If you found this review helpful, please do rate it as helpful – really helps me out!

Excellent though this book is, I've had to stop reading it halfway through as the author shows how the climate-change debate was manipulated and distorted by a clique of self-interested fossil-fuel billionaires -- it becomes too depressing. The only thing wrong with the book is its subtitle 'How a secretive group of billionaires is trying to buy political control...'; this needs updating to '...have succeeded in buying political control', in that Trump's proposed administration of cranks, bigots, and billionaires have all emerged from or been supported by bodies created or funded by (in particular) the Koch brothers, the oil/gas/chemicals moguls who are the main focus of Meyer's investigation. Unfortunately they are far from the only ones -- the USA seems infested by the same breed of arrogant megalomaniacs, using their vast financial influence to further degrade an electorate a large part of which is already degraded intellectually, culturally, and ethically, and Meyer charts all of this from its beginnings up to the present. It really is a massively important book (and I will finish reading it when my stomach has recovered). What it doesn't offer is a solution, a way to prevent this kind of influence from turning what was a liberal democracy into a far-right oligarchy; and I can't see that there is one.

Over a number of years Jane Mayer has researched the gradual takeover of American politics by big money and she presents the detailed evidence in 'Dark Money'. Without knowing the background the resulting distortions and dysfunctions are there in the foreground for all to see. How has it been allowed to happen? Two things stand out. The first is changes in election law that allow individuals and corporations to spend limitless amounts of money to buy elections. The second is fudges in tax and charity law that allow the same clique of hyper rich individuals and corporations to set up and secretly fund hundreds of tax deductible 'philanthropic public interest charities' with names like 'Americans for Freedom and Prosperity'. These extreme right 'think tanks' then feed their 'research' into the media as consensus 'public interest' policy proposals. That the proposals facilitate the further concentration of wealth and power into the hands of the hyper rich clique who secretly fund the 'think tanks' via layers of opaque shell companies is not a media focus. Prominent among the corporate rulers who fund and control this shadow political system that has the public political system in a headlock are the Koch brothers. They have successfully worked to manipulate public opinion to block any measures to regulate or reform corporate excess or the extreme concentration of wealth. Two things stand out. One, they seem to be extremely embittered leading dysfunctional personal lives. Two, the result of their machinations has been to lay the groundwork for the election of an incompetent, malevolent moron as president. For democracy to work requires an electorate that participates and is informed. This book goes some way in providing information by shedding light in dark places.

I’ve not read the book yet but I’m not sure having the cover taped together would constitute as “good condition”

An exceptionally impressive piece of investigative journalism. If you are interested in the political machinations of the US electoral system, campaign-finance, and the deleterious impact of the billionaire class in funneling tons of money to reshape the social and political fabric of America, this is the book for you. It is dense, and often delves into the minutiae of different methods of influencing political elections, particularly during the Obama years. It is not for everyone, but this is a stellar achievement of high journalistic integrity.

I knew this corruption was happening before I read this book, and not just in America. But when l read the well-researched information, which put names and faces to my suspicions, it made me want to spit. Excellent eye-opener and a must read.