Astral Codex Ten

Lewis Powell

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Lewis Powell

Article

Lewis Powell is a recurring person in the Astral Codex Ten archive, appearing 2 times across 2 issues between May 04, 2021 and June 23, 2023. The archive places it in contexts such as “confidential memo sent by Lewis Powell to the US Chamber of Commerce in August 1971”; “Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell said, “Nader is the single most effective antagonist of American business,”“. It most often appears alongside Bush, Reagan, Richard Nixon.

Metadata

  • Category: People
  • Mention count: 2
  • Issue count: 2
  • First seen: May 04, 2021
  • Last seen: June 23, 2023

Appears In

Source Context

Recovered passages from the original issue text. When the raw archive preserved outbound links inside the source passage, they are listed directly under the quote.

Book Review: A Brief History Of Neoliberalism
May 04, 2021 · Original source
In the US case I begin with a confidential memo sent by Lewis Powell to the US Chamber of Commerce in August 1971. Powell, about to be elevated to the Supreme Court by Richard Nixon, argued that criticism of and opposition to the US free enterprise system had gone too far and that ‘the time had come—indeed it is long overdue—for the wisdom, ingenuity and resources of American business to be marshalled against those who would destroy it’. Powell argued that individual action was insufficient. ‘Strength’, he wrote, ‘lies in organization, in careful long-range planning and implementation, in consistency of action over an indefinite period of years, in the scale of financing available only through joint effort, and in the political power available only through united action and national organizations’. The National Chamber of Commerce, he argued, should lead an assault upon the major institutions—universities, schools, the media, publishing, the courts—in order to change how individuals think ‘about the corporation, the law, culture, and the individual’. US businesses did not lack resources for such an effort, particularly when pooled."
Your Book Review: Public Citizens
June 23, 2023 · Original source
By the mid-seventies, Nader was at the height of his influence. George McGovern briefly considered him for vice president, but Nader said no, and also refused entreaties to run as a third-party candidate—at this point, he was staunchly against getting involved in electoral politics. After Jimmy Carter received the Democratic nomination in 1976, he took a three-hour meeting with Nader, where Nader spent the entire time lecturing him about how government “really” worked. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell said, “Nader is the single most effective antagonist of American business,” which Nader probably took as a compliment.