Dr Sheldon Wolin on Inverted Totalitarianism
The political philosopher Sheldon Wolin coined the term inverted totalitarianism in 2003 to describe what he saw as the emerging form of government of the United States. Wolin analysed the United States as increasingly turning into a managed democracy (similar to an illiberal democracy). He uses the term "inverted totalitarianism" to draw attention to the totalitarian aspects of the American political system while emphasizing its differences from proper totalitarianism, such as Nazi and Stalinist regimes.
The book Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt (2012) by Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco portrays inverted totalitarianism as a system where corporations have corrupted and subverted democracy and where economics bests politics. Every natural resource and living being is commodified and exploited by large corporations to the point of collapse as excess consumerism and sensationalism lull and manipulate the citizenry into surrendering their liberties and their participation in government
Host Chris Hedges talks with journalist Danny Haiphong about how the myths of American meritocracy and individualism are used to legitimize the accumulation of inherited wealth by the ruling elite class. Haiphongโs new book with Roberto Sirvent is American Exceptionalism and American Innocence: A Peopleโs History of Fake News โ From the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror.