ABSTRACT
Co-optation abounded at multiple levels in the system, often having the effect of reducing incentives to impose accountability mechanisms that could expose paper programs. The ultimate losers in the paper programs and the co-opted relationships have been the consumers and potential consumers of social services, those who currently occupy the least powerful place in the hegemonic relationships. Social programs often develop in a hegemonic environment that influences their funding, their implementation, and their accountability requirements all the way down the line. Ethical program staff who are both client centered and public centered almost invariably implement strong programs. The theory of hegemony derives from the recognition that government and other dominant interests cannot enforce control over any subordinate groups without the groups yielding a limited consent. Dominant groups in capitalist societies rule through power blocs, or special purpose alliances, but subordinate formations also play roles in the development of policies and ideologies.
