Sheldon Wolin - Inverted Totalitarianism - Corporate State

ꕤ Article SOURCE http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/02/sheldon-wolin-and-inverted-totalitarianism Article by Chris Hedges Summary Sheldon Wolin US political theorist / academic d. 2015 America:  'Inverted totalitarianism' + other More  Sheldon Wolin US  political theorist Prof. politics Princeton (1973 to 1987) + other posts - 40 years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Wolin Wolin books: >> 'Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy & the Spectre of Inverted Totalitarianism' >> 'Politics & Vision' Wolin discusses: 1. Bankrupt democracy. 2. Decline US Empire. 3. Rise: corporate power  -- ie “inverted totalitarianism” Ahead of his time: Sheldon Wolin / theorising: heavy statism forging --> neoliberalism / centralized govt control re economic planning &  policy Wolin: statism --> neoliberalism -->  fusions of economic with political power -->  poisoning democracy at its root Wolin last book: 'Democracy Incorporated' -- details American peculiar form of corporate totalitarianism. Wolin: “Democracy Incorporated” / US corp. totalitarianism No USA  institutions can be accurately be described as democratic Wolin #USA undemocratic: --> highly managed national institutions --> money-saturated elections Wolin #USA undemocratic: -> lobby-infested Congress -> imperial presidency -> class-biased judicial + penal system -> media Sheldon Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' -->  is different from classical forms of totalitarianism. Sheldon Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' = within:   faceless anonymity of corporate state NO demagogue or charismatic leader Wolin: American 'Inverted totalitarianism' effectively seized all mechanisms of power to render citizen impotent 1/3 Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' seized all mechanisms of power: outward façade of: electoral politics Constitution 2/3 'Inverted totalitarianism' seized mech. power: civil liberties freedom of press independence of judiciary iconography 3/3 Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' seized all mechanisms of power --> traditions language of US patriotism Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' Corporates --> effectively seized all mechanisms of power -->  to render citizen impotent Hitler's NSDAP (Nazi) govt -> life uncertain for wealthy + privileged -> providing social programs for working class & poor 1/ Unlike NSDAP (Nazi), inverted totalitarianism exploits the poor  ... 2 2/3 Unlike NSDAP (Nazi) totalitarianism, inverted totalitarianism reduces or weakens health programs + social services 3/4 Unlike NSDAP (Nazi) totalitarianism, inverted totalitarianism regiments mass education for insecure workforce 3/4 Unlike NSDAP (Nazi) totalitarianism, inverted totalitarianism *threatens working class --> importation of low-wage workers Sheldon Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' working in high-tech, volatile & globalised economy as precarious as the Depression Sheldon Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' projects power upwards --> antithesis of constitutional power Sheldon Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' projects power upwards to create instability =  citizenry off balance & passive Sheldon Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' rational system economy of fear / feeds uncertainty Wolin: 'inverted totalitarianism' --> perpetuates politics all time endless extravagant show elections politics w/out politics Wolin: 'inverted totalitarianism' 'Citizen' is NOT participating in power --> is invited to have ‘opinions’ Wolin: 'inverted totalitarianism' 'Citizen' opinions: --> are measurable responses to questions pre-designed to elicit them. Wolin: 'inverted totalitarianism' political campaigns rarely re real issues --> focus political personalities, empty rhetoric, PR Wolin: 'inverted totalitarianism' Money has effectively replaced the vote --> citizen of US Empire irrelevant spectator. Wolin: 'inverted totalitarianism' IMPOTENT CITIZEN --> permitted empty vote & forgotten once election carnival over. Wolin inverted totalitarianism elections serve up pliant legislators for lobbyists to shape misrepresentative or clientry govt Wolin: inverted totalitarianism elections --> produce lobbyists' puppets = depoliticisation of citizenry = antidemocracy system Wolin inverted totalitarianism: --> public is DENIED use of state power trivialization discourse = corp. power - UNCHALLENGED Wolin inverted totalitarianism: trivialization discourse =  tactic: fragmentation, emotions, antagonism --> corp. unchallenged Wolin inverted totalitarianism: Cultural Wars --> NOT strong political involvements Cultural Wars = SUBSTITUTE Wolin inverted totalitarianism: Cultural Wars --> POLITICS OF THE INCONSEQUENTIAL / substitute exploited by MEDIA & politics Wolin inverted totalitarianism: Cultural Wars --> DISTRACTS ATTENTION trivialization discourse --> corp. unchallenged Wolin inverted totalitarianism: Ruling groups --> tools to UNDERMINE PUBLIC COHESIVENESS =  public POLITICALLY INEFFECTIVE Wolin classic totalitarianism: economics subordinate to politics / inverted totalitarianism: ECONOMICS DOMINATES POLITICS Wolin inverted totalitarianism: POLITICS DOMINATED BY ECONOMICS --> in varying forms of ruthlessness Wolin inverted totalitarianism: POLITICS DOMINATED BY ECONOMICS -> USA showcase of MANAGED democracy (suppression not visible) Wolin inverted totalitarianism: corporate state --> legitimated by elections it controls Wolin inverted totalitarianism: corporate state Extinguishes democracy rewriting & distorting laws (once supported democracy) Wolin inverted totalitarianism: corporate state --> basic rights REVOKED --> by judicial & legislative fiat (sanction) corporate state Courts & legislative bodies, in the service of corporate power Wolin inverted totalitarianism: COURTS --> interpret laws to strengthen corporate control & abolish corporate oversight Wolin (Nazis negated constitution) BUT inverted totalitarianism: exploit porosity & legitimate power --> by law interpretation Wolin inverted totalitarianism eg. EXPLOITATION law --> HUGE contributions protected under 1st Amendment (speech) Wolin inverted totalitarianism HIJACKS 1st Amendment to treat HEAVILY FINANCED LOBBIES & CORPS. like PERSON petition govt. Wolin inverted totalitarianism harsh & violent control measures avoided AS LONG AS:  dissent remains ineffectual Wolin inverted totalitarianism elites -- especially ** intellectual class ** HAVE BEEN  BOUGHT OFF --> various methods - list Wolin inverted totalitarianism / intellectual class OWNED: *govt contracts *foundation funds *joint projects: uni. + corp. Wolin intellectual class OWNED: joint projects w/ wealthy donors intellectuals -->seamelessly integrated into corp. system Wolin inverted totalitarianism will become as brutal and violent as past totalitarian states if RIGHTS / privacy etc eroded Wolin inverted totalitarianism 'War on Terror' - pre-emptive / released re restraint --> PRESUMES STATE POWER CAN TURN INWARDS Wolin inverted totalitarianism -- claimed power domestically --  projected powers abroad --> measure NOT by CONSTITUTION Wolin inverted totalitarianism POWERS claimed not by measure of Constitution but by OFFICIALLY DEFINED 'terrorism' Wolin inverted totalitarianism = corporate state 'legally' harass & kill citizens with impunity --> eg police VIOLENCE / poor Wolin inverted totalitarianism *militarized police *wholesale surveillance *extra-judicial police killings for underclass Wolin inverted totalitarianism reality for underclass will BE reality for US ALL IF we begin to RESIST FUNNEL OF POWER UPWARD Wolin inverted totalitarianism / We are tolerated as citizens ONLY as we PARTICIPATE IN ILLUSION of PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY Wolin Corporate State inverted totalitarianism --> will eventually look like classic totalitarianism Wolin -- on African-American prison pop criminal justice -->strategy of political neutralisation + channel of instinctive racism Wolin Corp. monochromatic media pundits set agenda & parameters --> those changing context dismissed or labelled 'extremist' Wolin Corporate State inverted totalitarianism illusions disseminated  --> myth dominates decisions -->  DISASTER ON EMPIRE Wolin Myth cannot govern decisions in real world: ambiguity + stubborn facts abound --> disconnect between actors & reality ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT Really enjoyed this article. Sheldon Wolin sounds like he was an interesting guy (died 2015). ꕤ

Corporate State Capture - Inverted Totalitarianism

ꕤ Article SOURCE as marked Years ago when Congressman Otis Pike investigated the CIA he concluded that it was an obedient arm of the executive branch. And yes, accounts of a “rogue agency” are occasionally dusted off when the President needs plausible deniability but in general the spies in Langley do what they’re told. Pike concluded that it wasn’t just one or two bad apples in the barrel. He decided the whole barrel was bad. This no doubt explains why the government classified his report. In a nutshell, then, the United States executive branch is being driven by corporate forces that transitively dictate the long-term strategic goals of the intelligence services.  Activists like William Blum have spent their lives investigating and carefully recording this reality. For additional illumination check out the War and Peace Studies performed by the Council on Foreign Relations during World War II on behalf of the State Department. It’s a flat out recipe for neoliberal hegemony. As Canadian filmmaker Scott Noble demonstrated in his movie “Counter-Intelligence,” the United States is part of a corporate empire and the intelligence services are the Praetorian Guard of this empire. So Glenn, does this mean that addressing mass surveillance, and the mass subversion which enables it, will entail tackling the related problem of corporate state capture? Or, as Sheldon Wolin refers to it, the specter of inverted totalitarianism? http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/06/19/an-open-letter-to-glenn-greenwald/ Sheldon Wolin Writer "American political theorist and writer on contemporary politics. One of the most original and influential American political theorists of the past fifty years ..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Wolin ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT No time to check this out properly. I just think it's cool that there's a name for usurping government:  'corporate state capture' &  'inverted totalitarianism'. So when I'm throwing around 'totalitarianism', it's good to know I'm not crazy.  lol ꕤ