How is public policy formed?

Thomas R. Dye, Political Scientist from Lincoln Center on Public Service, has written about public policy for 30 years. He posits that in the U.S. , an oligopoly sets the agenda for public policy based on the interests of the top socio-eco-military elites - from the top down.

Setting the agenda means to access the means of governmental power - legislative, regulatory, executive, semi-autonomous agencies.