Heck fire, them rich people don't even know each other, most of 'em. Pluralists deride the idea that there could be class domination in the United States, and one of the reasons they do is that the upper class of rich people is allegedly too fragmented to be able to organize for power. The answer goes back to the kind of criticisms that used to be made of a class-domination theory by the most important group of theorists in the social sciences during the 20th century, the pluralists. That's a fair question, and an important one in terms of differentiating rival theories of power in the United States. If this is a web site about power, politics, and social change, why bother with the Bohemian Grove if it is not a place of power? Why Study the Bohemian Grove? Social Cohesion And Policy Cohesion These activities do contribute to social cohesion as an unintended consequence - which is why I decided to study the Bohemians in the first place - but the Grove is merely a playground for the powerful and their entertainers that gives us a window into a lifestyle that is far removed from that of average Americans. The Grove encampment is a bunch of guys kidding around, drinking with their buddies, and trying to relive their youth, and often acting very silly. In fact, every person who has written seriously on the Bohemian Grove agrees: even though they provide evidence that there is a socially cohesive upper class in the United States, the activities at the Grove are harmless. More recently, a reporter from Vanity Fair snuck into the Grove during the 2008 encampment to investigate logging activity as well as the usual goings-on, and his experiences are summarized in a May 2009 article entitled "Bohemian Tragedy." For those who still might question my conclusions after reading this article, I recommend reading an excellent first-hand account of the Bohemian Grove by a journalist from Spy magazine who snuck into the encampment in 1989 the author had every incentive to tell it exactly as he saw it. Readers who suspect that every gathering of the rich and the powerful has some deeper purpose may doubt this claim, at least until they see my evidence. Yes, as I show later, some wanna-be and has-been Republican politicians sometimes visit the Bohemian Grove, including future and former presidents of the United States, but they are there to demonstrate what wonderful human beings they are, to cultivate potential financial backers, or to brag about their past exploits. The most important decisions typically happen just where we might expect: in the boardrooms of corporations and foundations, at the White House, and in the backrooms of Congress. Despite the suspicions of many on the Right, and a few on the Left, it is not a secret meeting place to plot, plan, or conspire. It's a place where the powerful relax, enjoy each other's company, and get to know some of the artists, entertainers, and professors who are included to give the occasion a thin veneer of cultural and intellectual pretension.
The Bohemians started going on their little retreat shortly after the club was founded it became big-time by the 1880s, and it continues today. It's owned by the Bohemian Club, which was founded in San Francisco in 1872. It's an Elks Club for the rich a fraternity party in the woods a boy scout camp for old guys, complete with an initiation ceremony and a totem animal, the owl. The Bohemian Grove is a 2,700-acre virgin redwood grove in Northern California, 75 miles north of San Francisco (map), where the rich, the powerful, and their entourage visit with each other during the last two weeks of July while camping out in cabins and tents.
The Sociology of Bohemia: The Corporate and Social Connections of Members and Guests The History of the Bohemian Club and Its Grove Encampment Why Study the Bohemian Grove? Social Cohesion And Policy Cohesion