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Javnost - The Public, Vol. 33 - 2026, No. 1
Addressing the “Theoretical Blight:” How Robert A. Brady Shaped Political Economy of Communication
In his foreword to Robert A. Brady’s canonical text, Business as a System of Power (1943), Brady’s colleague, Robert Lynd, questions—“will democratic political power absorb and use economic resources, bigness and all, to serve its ends, or will big economic power take over state power?” This far-fetched proposition guided Brady’s projects and inspired a new class of critical political economics, many of whom applied their analyses to the field of communica- tion. Brady’s expansive contributions to the field of communication are perhaps best under- stood through the context in which he conducted research and his web of influence in the academy. Brady’s musings reveal forgotten—or ostensibly omitted—revelations about how businesses wield power over social, technological, political, and cultural transformations. This investigation traces how Robert A. Brady’s social and political history, fiercely democratic ideology, and scathing critique of business and state coordination prove significant to the history of political economy of communication.