Power and Powerlessness: Quiescence and Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley"Using Clear Fork Valley in central Appalachia as an empirical example, Gaventa attempts to discern the 'hidden faces of power'--those forces which shape actions and consciousness in ways not readily apparent in formal American political processes. He seeks to clarify and expand upon past theories (by such writers as Bachrach and Lukes) on the nature and maintenance of power. The region studied here is characterized by stark incongruity--the co-existence of massive natural wealth (coal and land) with pervasive human poverty attended by high unemployment, limited education, malnutrition, and the prevalent hazards of mining coal: black lung, dismemberment, death, and ecological ruin. This has been the region's status quo under the decades of domination by a British company and its absentee owners. Despite these departure conditions and frequently violent union struggles, culminating in the 1969 murder of UMW reformist Jock Yablonski, acquiescence to this status quo has been maintained. Gaventa searches out the answers to how and why wealth and poverty continue to coexist and the powerless continue to accede to the powerful. His astute analysis poses broader questions about the politics of poverty, working-class consciousness, and corporate power in America"--Publisher's website. |
Contents
II | 1 |
III | 3 |
IV | 5 |
V | 13 |
VI | 20 |
VII | 25 |
VIII | 33 |
IX | 45 |
XXV | 117 |
XXVI | 123 |
XXVII | 125 |
XXVIII | 137 |
XXIX | 138 |
XXX | 141 |
XXXI | 161 |
XXXII | 165 |
Other editions - View all
Power and Powerlessness: Quiescence and Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley John Gaventa No preview available - 1982 |
Common terms and phrases
absentee action American Association amongst Appalachian region Appalachian Valley appear approach behaviour Bell County benefits Boyle Campbell County cent Central Appalachia challenge Claiborne County Clear Fork Valley coal camp coal community colonial company town conceptions conflict consciousness consensus corporate county seat courthouse culture Cumberland Gap Cumberland Mountains decision-making arenas dimensions of power District 19 dominant economic effects élite emergence expressed grievances Harlan ibid ideology industrial inequalities instance interests issues John Gaventa Kentucky Knoxville News Sentinel Labor land leaders Lewis London Lowson Middlesboro Daily Middlesborough miners mobilization of bias mountain munity non-élite non-participation organization participation patterns pensioners pluralists political potential poverty power and powerlessness power relationships powerholders president protest quiescence re-enforce rebellion response rural shaping situation social society Southern strip mining Tennessee third dimension Turnblazer UMWA UMWA Files union United Mine Workers voting vulnerability Yablonski Yellow Creek York