If you want to understand why corporations seem to have so much influence over our politics today, start with the Powell Memo.
Back in 1971, Lewis Powell wrote a memo warning that business interests needed to organize, influence public opinion, shape education, fund think tanks, and become much more active in politics and the courts. What followed wasn't a short-term campaign—it was a decades-long strategy.
Whether you see it as protecting free enterprise or expanding corporate power, it's hard to ignore the results. Corporate lobbying exploded, think tanks multiplied, money poured into politics, and business interests gained enormous influence over public policy.
People often act like all of this happened by accident. It didn't. There was a plan, there was patience, and fifty years later we're still living with the consequences.
If you're interested in modern politics, understanding the Powell Memo helps explain why discussions about corporate influence, dark money, think tanks, and judicial appointments often trace their roots back to 1971.
