The New Entrepreneurial Advocacy

The role of business in American politics has provoked much controversy and attention over recent years. One need look no further than the Koch brothers or the Trump administration to get an idea of the extent to which the interests of private business wield influence over the political system. Contemporary evidence of the clear and growing disparities in wealth between ordinary citizens and business elites has drawn new attention to this topic. Recently, the canon on the activities of business elites in politics has also grown as we have learned a great deal about how business firms and their ultra-wealthy leaders and investors seek to exert political influence.

This book looks at one form of business elite activity that has thus far received little attention, despite the high-profile political efforts of billionaire businesspeople including Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg: a phenomenon that Darren R. Halpin and Anthony J. Nownes call new entrepreneurial advocacy. This entrepreneurial advocacy is a mode of political engagement in which wealthy entrepreneurs (often from Silicon Valley) use their vast resources to form new organizations that advocate for their vision of the social good, which may or may not be directly linked to their private or business interests.

While previous studies focus on a cross section of either the wealthiest Americans or the largest firms in the United States, this book takes a deep-dive into the political activities of a single, yet pivotal, cohort--the founders and CEOs of Silicon Valley firms. Specifically, the authors trace the development of new entrepreneurial advocacy to understand its extent, its breadth, and whose interests they represent, who supports them financially, and why business elites choose to create new organizations to engage in advocacy rather than do so under the umbrellas of their companies. Crucially, the authors also look at the impact of these organizations and what their activity means for American democracy. Leveraging a vast range of unique datasets, from political donations and lobbying to philanthropic giving and social media commentary, this book examines the role of this important set of elites in contemporary American political life.

"The role of business in the American political system has always stirred emotions. Contemporary evidence of the clear and growing disparities in wealth between ordinary citizens and business elites has drawn new attention to this topic. Recently, the canon on the activities of business elites in politics has grown, as we have learned a great deal about how business firms and their ultra-wealthy leaders and investors seek to exert political influence. In this book, we examine one form of business elite activity that has thus far received surprisingly little scholarly attention despite the high-profile political efforts of billionaire businesspeople such as Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. Specifically, we examine what we call the new entrepreneurial advocacy. Where previous work focuses on a cross section of either the wealthiest Americans or the largest firms in the United States, this book takes a deep-dive into the political activities of a single, yet pivotal, cohort - the founders and CEOs of Silicon Valley firms. Leveraging a vast range of unique data sets, spanning the political donations of firms and their leaders, the local, state and Washington lobbying of Silicon Valley firms, the social media and media commentary of Silicon Valley CEOs and founders, and the role of elites in supporting and founding new political organizations, this book shines a light on the role of this important set of elites in contemporary American political life"--

Halpin and Nownes map out the corporate activities and the personal engagements by some of the outsized individuals who founded and currently direct the nation's largest high-tech firms. Anyone concerned with power, influence, and the future of American democracy should read this book. It's an encyclopedia of who is doing what, and with what effect, in Washington and around the country. -- Frank R. Baumgartner, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

This richly detailed book offers a panoramic view of the (typically) progressive political activities of the tech leaders and companies that populate Silicon Valley. In so doing, the authors challenge us to think far more expansively about elite political behavior. Beyond lobbying and making campaign donations, business leaders exercise their public voice through social media messages, move massive sums through their philanthropies to advance policy goals, and even create advocacy groups to champion important issues stuck in a gridlocked political system. -- Kristin A. Goss, Duke University

Providing a wealth of information on the leaders of our information age, The New Entrepreneurial Advocacy is a very welcome addition to the literature on business and politics. Halpin and Nownes have compiled original data on how the men and women running Silicon Valley seek to influence and bring pressure to bear on those running the country. Departing from the more conventional focus on firm political activities, this book examines the various ways those in charge distribute their efforts across the political spectrum. Companies that contribute to campaigns tend to have CEOs who contribute, but not necessarily to the same recipient. This work is empirical and contemporary, but it raises age-old issues for democratic theorists. Perhaps it gives nuance to E.E. Schattschneider's 'flaw in the pluralist heaven, ' if there are liberal as well as conservative voices in the heavenly chorus? -- Neil Mitchell, University College London