The primary focus of this case study is an in-depth analysis of tobacco company tactics and resistance in the United States. United with regard to public health policies, focusing on the period between the 1950s and 2000. For half a century, tobacco companies carried out manipulation via the media and false scientific reports, thus provoking the addiction and the death of millions of people. The health policy process will be examined, primarily over several decades, when decision-making and the political agenda on this issue were controlled by cigarette companies. For the purposes of this case study, structuralist theory will be examined and applied to explain the political process. It will reference the work of Steven Lukes, which captures the structurally embedded nature of power in political processes. The theory will explain the dominance of business, while examining latent class conflicts and the relationship between economic power and political power. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay The structuralist perspective on the political process is often described as a Marxist theory, because it emphasizes economic determinism and latent class conflicts. A latent class conflict exists when there would be a conflict of desires between those who exercise power and those who are subject to it, if the subjects become aware of their interests. This refers to the fact that, often, subjects of power are not aware of their preferences, because they are influenced by power holders in a way contrary to their interests. This is described as thought control and its primary forum is the mass media. Mass media are proven to influence the public opinion agenda and are often described as powerful decision-makers, including government policy agendas. Using the power of media, influencers are able to capture attention and create the desired ideology, which helps them prevent or put topics on the political agenda. This indicates that power is not equally distributed but accumulates among a smaller number of powerful actors, capable of marginalizing the interests of excluded groups, such as the mass population. This social structure of capitalist society is described in classical Marxist theory as two confronting classes: the bourgeoisie, who own the means of production, and the proletariat, who work for the bourgeoisie. Therefore, the theory emphasizes that corporations play a structurally dominant role in the political process. This domination comes from the fact that large companies perform economic functions for society as a whole; they provide employment to many people and contribute significantly to the country's GDP. Therefore, corporations play an important and powerful role in the overall scope of policymaking, using their power and capital accumulation as a means to influence the policy process to their advantage. The close relationship between economic power and political power can also be observed by examining the role of government. The Marxist position suggests that the capitalist state is an executive committee of the bourgeoisie, or in other words, an agent of powerful groups. The main function of the state is to support the process of capital accumulation, creating the conditions under which capitalists are able to promote the production of profit. Furthermore, theGovernment acts to maintain order and control within society, but it primarily serves the long-term interests of the capitalist class. This suggests that policy choices are predetermined to provide beneficial outcomes for elites, whose preferences predominate in conflicts over policy issues. The previously mentioned points of structuralist theory will be used later in the case study, when examining the policy process and its explanation, relating the elements of the structuralist perspective to the policy process. The main arguments of the review will include the explanation of how latent class conflict was present in the case of tobacco companies and the public in the United States. Additionally, how these corporations exercised their thought control and manipulated the mass population to act against their true interests will be discussed. Understanding the social structure of society as dominant and subordinate groups will present evidence of unevenly distributed power. Importantly, the structurally dominant role of corporations will be presented throughout the case study, while emphasizing the marginalized interests of subordinate groups and the dominant role of special interests. The role of government will also be analyzed, examining its non-intervention for over half a century, which provided tobacco companies with the advantageous conditions under which they were able to continue accumulating profits. Finally, the evaluation of the results of the political process will support the argument of the structuralist notion; that political choices are predetermined. Tobacco constitutes a major health hazard and an important economic product. This latter characteristic led to the harm caused by cigarettes being ignored for decades by manufacturers and, indeed, the U.S. government as well. This part of the case study will analyze the health policy process in the United States between the 1950s and 2000s. The central actors in the policy process are tobacco companies, the US government, scientists, the media, and stakeholders. the most numerous but the most numerous. oppressed group, the public. Tobacco manufacturers and the public had extremely opposing interests, because although tobacco was proven to be harmful to health from the first days of its manufacture, citizens were unaware of it due to diversified handling and consumption. over time led to addiction. In the early 1950s, cigarette sales fell due to health concerns, but the tobacco industry took reassuring steps; he paid to publish the “Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers” in hundreds of newspapers in the United States. This statement was the first step in a half-century-long campaign to mislead the American public about the harmful effects of smoking. Even though the harmful health effects of tobacco were understood by the industry from the earliest days of manufacturing, the industry engaged in a vigorous effort to silence critics, distort science, influence opinion public and coordinate its strategy to avoid public policies that could harm sales. Interestingly, the US government did not conduct its own scientific research on the issue when it became a concern in the early 1950s; he simply accepted the manufacturers' statements. It is questionable whether the government's interest was the health of its citizens or the capital generated from the sale of cigarettes. The "Frank Statement" declared public health to be the industry's primary concern and promised a series ofgood faith changes. These changes were used to open up new markets and reach more people. The industry introduced new cigarettes, touted as safer, offering health-conscious smokers an alternative to quitting. These new cigarettes were filtered and flavored and were advertised with the explicit message that the filters removed dangerous substances while preserving flavor. The advertising was aggressive, however, the advertisements were false. Tobacco industry chemists knew that the filters did not remove tar or nicotine, but added another dangerous substance: asbestos found in the filter, but this information was forbidden by the industry. It was not just direct advertisements that changed people's interests: the tobacco industry's multimillion-dollar advertising budget enabled commercial collaboration with major Hollywood film studios. Smoking in films was associated with tobacco initiation among adolescents and young adults and sales increased. Therefore, between 1970 and the mid-1990s, public health experts called on the film industry to eliminate smoking in future films. Accessible to young people, but the industry resisted, arguing that the imagery tobacco was an integral part of the artistry of American cinema. Public health experts may achieve minimal success; tobacco remained an important part of the films. The media is not the only instrument for influencing public opinion and avoiding public policies. Economic power is an important source of political power because it enables the purchase of expertise to generate critical information in the political process and liaison agents to convey this information to relevant policy makers. Tobacco companies acted accordingly; After the 1954 “Candid Declaration,” manufacturers declared their determination to cooperate closely with those working to protect public health. In fact, manufacturers have taken advantage of this situation and adopted voluntary codes and preventive legislation. The industry advocated self-regulation rather than government legislation and the government agreed. The industry bought scientific papers that proved smoking was less harmful than it actually was, and self-regulation proved ineffective in providing truthful information to consumers. However, the industry lobbied for preventative legislation and agreed to the introduction of warning labels on cigarette packets in the 1970s. This was a consent decision by the industry, because the labels warned of the risks associated with smoking. It could therefore be said that smokers consented to harm their own health in the event of danger; it was a protection against prosecution. The opening of international markets through trade sanctions with government intervention could also be observed. Tobacco companies in the United States pressured Japan and other countries in the Western Pacific region to remove trade barriers to foreign cigarette imports and state intervention took place in 1986. The U.S. government took effective international trade action to remove tariffs and other restrictions on cigarettes. foreign cigarettes. This represents cooperation between government and business, emphasizing the direct interests of the government. Government cooperation was dominant, with industry agents occupyingseveral positions among state decision-makers. The government gave the tobacco industry a veto over the membership of the advisory committee that ultimately produced the general reports on smoking and health, including the first surgeon general's report in 1964, which was found to be be a manipulated consensus. Tobacco companies also enjoyed the support of some of the most prestigious law firms and secured the allegiance of a significant portion of Congress. In terms of policymaking, the government has not produced meaningful policies, exhibiting industry-state cooperation and domination of special interests. In 1999, the WHO launched the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which also had an impact on tobacco use in the United States. The FCTC considered challenging the industry's freedom to continue doing business and promoted anti-smoking measures. In the United States, tobacco control policies were introduced after 1995, including increased excise taxes on cigarettes, which led to higher cigarette prices and discouraged those who were sensitive to them. Restrictions on smoking in public places and private workplaces were introduced, and by 2000 it was clearly established that cigarette smoking was harmful to health. The industry failed to live up to its responsibilities because of an ever-developing playbook that guided the behavior of industry executives, lawyers, scientists, and pro-industry government officials. She presented herself as a source of income, provider of jobs, patron of the arts and sports, defender of freedom and provider of pleasure. Even though cigarette sales have declined since public policies were introduced, the company was able to grow a multibillion-dollar business over the decades without regulation. Many users have become addicted and smoking still affects millions of people. This section of the case study will examine whether the structuralist theory discussed above can explain the events of the Tobacco Affair. It is worth remembering that the most dominant sections of this concept were latent class conflict, which originated in classical Marxist theory, and economic determinism. Latent class conflict has been explained as two classes, in this case tobacco companies and the American public, which are in conflict due to their divergent interests. The word "latent" refers to the phenomenon which, even if there is no confrontation between classes, does not account for their similar interests but simply for the fact that those who are subject to power are not aware of their interests. In the case of tobacco manufacturing, this perception is relevant, as the cigarette industry manipulated its consumers by developing media campaigns and heavily marketing its message over the decades. This was based on a false or manipulated consensus and directing the public's attention towards the ideological values ​​of smoking, while suppressing their fear of health problems. The extensive marketing campaign that followed the introduction of new cigarette products equipped with filters is a significant example. Filtered cigarettes were portrayed as safe and were aggressively marketed with particular attention to the gender divide; produce advertisements aimed separately at men and women, acquiring the consumption of both sexes. Smoking was associated with admired characteristics, such as athletic prowess, sexual attractiveness, achievement.