ABSTRACT
Countervailing forces, by their nature, must function in collectives, whether unions, civil rights groups, consumer organizations, or other bottom-up endeavors. Laws and governmental resources that arise from collectivism count as secondary countervailing forces: public assistance, unemployment benefits, clean air and water regulations, Medicare and Medicaid, civil rights laws. Countervailing forces varied geographically among the states. Weakening of countervailing forces also has shown geographic variation among the states. Collectivist countervailing forces the labor unions, the civil rights organizations, womens rights groups, environmentalists, felt relatively safe and well-regarded. The school of economics and social science opposed to the neo-liberals centered on John Kenneth Galbraith who articulated the importance of countervailing forces in preventing the disappearance of democracy through the power of large corporations and coalitions of corporations. In recognition of the threat that democracy poses to large corporations and their power, the principles of the Chicago School of the 1940s–1950s included prioritizing free market and free enterprise political freedom.
