Written by lawyer and future Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, the memo pushes back against the wave of recent regulations and controls placed on businesses, saying: "The thing that affects business most today is government... Business must learn the lesson... that political power is necessary; that such power must be assiduously cultivated; and that when necessary, it must be used aggressively and with determination" (Moyers & Company, 2012).

Following the memo, there will be a marked and continued increase in the number of corporate political action committees (PACs), corporate lobbyists, and anti-labor organizing.

This cultural shift in the political role of business will also shape the rise of the political power of the pharmaceutical industry.