A well-known American professor and historian, Carroll Quigley devoted a large portion of his career to researching economic history. He is renowned for his in-depth examination of historical occurrences and how they affected the evolution of societies. One of the most important points Quigley made was about the way corporate interests impact American politics.

Businesses believed they would have equal control over both major parties at the time when reforms were implemented in 1883 to make government jobs more merit-based rather than political appointments, Quigley noted. This concept is comparable to a chess player attempting to control both white and black pieces equally in order to dominate the board. Since politicians would now be more closely aligned with business interests rather than just the interests of their party, it was anticipated that these reforms would enable corporations to exert more effective political influence.

Nevertheless, this strategy did not produce the anticipated outcomes. Rather than establishing equitable authority over political parties, it made business-government relations more complicated. As different corporate entities sought different types of influence based on particular needs and goals, the relationship between business and politics became increasingly complex.

A basic feature of power relations is brought to light by Quigley's observation: when adjustments are made to ostensibly level the playing field, they frequently result in new kinds of imbalance or open vulnerabilities that can be taken advantage of in surprising ways. Similar to how changing a game's rules might not make it more equitable but might lead to new winning tactics, changing political systems can have unforeseen repercussions.

To put it simply, Quigley's observation serves as a reminder of the unpredictability of power and influence dynamics in intricate systems, like American government and business interactions in his era.