In The Halls Of Shame Summary

This is a summary of the article “In the halls of shame” written by Vanessa Baird, co-editor of New Internationalist (January/February 2011 edition). The article brings to light the massive influence corporations and billionaires have on national and international policies and the secretive and hidden processes by which they operate. She uncovers the truth behind the relationships between politicians and rich businessmen, intent on exposing their shameful activities.

A world of lobbying
Coined in the early 1800’s, the term lobbying has become a process that undermines the values instilled in democracy. Groups of all shapes and sizes, representing every possible interest, petition governments around the world to influence change. No other groups however, have become more dominant than those vying to protect their own interests and profits quite like the corporate lobbyist. Their actions are often hidden from the public eye, are shrewd and deceitful, and cost millions to defend. Their activities extend to international partnerships creating massive lobby groups and the sheer enormity
With political donations, the public can at least be aware of some of the activities between donor and politician. The corporate lobbyist however, aims to change society with deceitful and cunning intelligence, and often through a “myriad of other organisations”[1] (Baird, 2011, p. 16). None have succeeded as well as the Koch brothers, who have systematically paid their way into political parties, the judicial system, schools, universities and churches across America. Their wealth has allowed them to set up a multitude of special interest groups across the US that they direct and fund, with the sole purpose of supporting their own interests. They have effectively forced their ideologies onto the American public with unforgiving