Libby asserts there are viable strategies available to environmental, food safety, animal rights, gun control, and other organisations that seek to challenge business interests in the political arena. Drawing upon previously classified files, this book also draws from interviews with both activists and the industry representatives they oppose. With his balanced analysis, Libby goes beyond the polemical nature of much work on this subject, offering a new avenue for research in the social sciences and a useful tool for interest groups.
1. Introduction: Expressive Interest Groups2. The Antibiotechnology Campaign: Farmers Food Safety Groups, and Drug Companies3. The Animal Rights Campaign: Agribusiness and Animal Rights Groups4. The "Big Green" Campaign: Hollywood and the Chemical Industry5. The Secondhand Smoke Campaign: Antismoking Groups and the Philip Morris Company6. The Endangered Species Campaign: Property Rights Advocates and Environmental Groups7. Conclusion
RONALD T. LIBBY is professor and department chair in the Political Science Department at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia and the author of five books including Protecting Markets: U.S. Policy and the World Grain Trade and The Politics of Economic Power in Southern Africa.
A very usable and balanced book with great adaptability to any course dealing with organized interest politics. Libby argues well that expressive interests can and do check and politically trouble wealthier economic interests. This analysis effectively presents a side of interest politics that too many ignore too often.