In his eye-opening work, Dye explodes the myth that public policy represents the “demands of the people” and that the making of public policy flows upward from the masses. In reality, Dye argues, public policy in America, as in all nations, reflects the values, interests, and preferences of a governing elite. Top Down Policymaking is a close examination of the process by which the nation’s elite goes about the task of making public policy. Focusing on the behind-the-scenes activities of money foundations, policy planning organizations, think tanks, political campaign contributors, special-interest groups, lobbyists, law firms, influence-peddlers, and the national news media, Dye concludes that public policy is made from the top down.

1. Policymaking from the Top Down
What Is Public Policy?
Who’s on Top?
The Top-Down Policymaking Model
The Bottom-Up Policy Process Model
Democracy from the Top Down

2. Power, Wealth, and Policymaking
The Concentration of Economic Power
The Globalization of Economic Power
The Global Elite
Increasing Inequality in America
Inequality as a "Nondecision"
The Making of a Nondecision

3. The Policy Formulation Process
Top-Down Policy Formulation
The Foundations
The Think Tanks
The Conservative Policy Network
Global Thinking: The Council on Foreign Relations and the Tri-lateral Commission
Coordinating Elite Policy Formulation

4. The Leadership Selection Process
Top-Down Leadership Selection
The Costs of Getting Elected
Who Pays for Elections
What Money Buys in Policymaking
Financing the Parties
The Unlikely Prospects for Reform

5. The Interest Group Process
Top-Down Representation
Lobbying: Who is Really Represented in Washington
Lawyers, Lobbyists, and Influence Peddlers
PAC Power
The Cash Constituents of Congress

6. The Opinion Making Process
Top-Down Opinion Making
The Elite Media
The Media in the Opinion Making Process
The Politics of the Media
Top Down Media Effects

7. The Policy Legitimation Process
Top-Down Policy Legitimation
The Limits of Constituency Influence
Congress and Legislative Legitimacy
Ambition, Professionalism, and Incumbency
Party and Leadership
The Committee System
Money and Legitimacy
Presidential Legitimation of Policy
Judicial Policy Legitimation

8. The Policy Implementation Process
Top-Down Policy Implementation
Sources of Bureaucratic Power
Bureaucratic Organization
Bureaucratic Responsiveness
Bureaucratic Regulation
Bureaucratic Budget Making
Bureaucratic Adjudication

9. The Policy Evaluation Process
Defining Policy Evaluation
Top-Down Policy Evaluation
Policy Evaluation by Governments
The Continuation of Failed Programs
Policy Evaluation by Elites
Politics and Policy Evaluation