Short Essay Question (40 marks)

“Corporations are the key centers of economic power in contemporary capitalism, and the largest ones concentrate that power in the capital they control . . . Corporate power reaches into civil and political society with generally debilitating implications for democracy. At the center of a robust democracy is an ongoing public conversation in which everyone with a stake in an issue gets a say. [However], [a]s it [corporate power] reaches into the public sphere, concentrated corporate power distorts the communication, privileging the interests and perspectives of those who own and control capital” (Carroll, et al., 2018, p. 2).

For the purposes of this short essay question, students must discuss the quote above in relation to the corporate-sponsored ‘denial industry’ and the various PR tactics it has used to distort communication and manufacture doubt about the reality of climate change. Responses must (i) be 300-325 words in length (excluding the bibliography, title page, etc.); (ii) include two direct quotes from at least two different sources derived from course materials (no outside sources are permitted and the specific quote above does not count towards one of your citations) N.B. All direct quotes must include author(s), year of publication and page number(s) as per APA guidelines and; (iii) use appropriate APA formatting. Students must also ensure that the quotes they incorporate are germane to the specific topic of climate science denial and that their discussion refers to specific PR tactics/strategies that have been employed by the denial industry.