Take a look at what’s going on, look at the article. Should we be worried? You tell me.
“Resisting the monopolies on left theory by Marxism and on democratic theory by liberalism, Wolin developed a distinctive—even distinctively American—analysis of the political present and of radical democratic possibilities. He was especially prescient in theorizing the heavy statism forging what we now call neoliberalism, and in revealing the novel fusions of economic with political power that he took to be poisoning democracy at its root.”
Wolin throughout his scholarship charted the devolution of American democracy and in his last book, “Democracy Incorporated,” details our peculiar form of corporate totalitarianism. “One cannot point to any national institution[s] that can accurately be described as democratic,” he writes in that book, “surely not in the highly managed, money-saturated elections, the lobby-infested Congress, the imperial presidency, the class-biased judicial and penal system, or, least of all, the media.”
Inverted totalitarianism is different from classical forms of totalitarianism. It does not find its expression in a demagogue or charismatic leader but in the faceless anonymity of the corporate state. Our inverted totalitarianism pays outward fealty to the facade of electoral politics, the Constitution, civil liberties, freedom of the press, the independence of the judiciary, and the iconography, traditions and language of American patriotism, but it has effectively seized all of the mechanisms of power to render the citizen impotent.
“Unlike the Nazis, who made life uncertain for the wealthy and privileged while providing social programs for the working class and poor, inverted totalitarianism exploits the poor, reducing or weakening health programs and social services, regimenting mass education for an insecure workforce threatened by the importation of low-wage workers,” Wolin writes. “Employment in a high-tech, volatile, and globalized economy is normally as precarious as during an old-fashioned depression. The result is that citizenship, or what remains of it, is practiced amidst a continuing state of worry. Hobbes had it right: when citizens are insecure and at the same time driven by competitive aspirations, they yearn for political stability rather than civic engagement, protection rather than political involvement.”
Inverted totalitarianism, Wolin said when we met at his home in Salem, Ore., in 2014 to film a nearly three-hour interview, constantly “projects power upwards.” It is “the antithesis of constitutional power.” It is designed to create instability to keep a citizenry off balance and passive.
He writes, “Downsizing, reorganization, bubbles bursting, unions busted, quickly outdated skills, and transfer of jobs abroad create not just fear but an economy of fear, a system of control whose power feeds on uncertainty, yet a system that, according to its analysts, is eminently rational.”
Inverted totalitarianism also “perpetuates politics all the time,” Wolin said when we spoke, “but a politics that is not political.” The endless and extravagant election cycles, he said, are an example of politics without politics.
“Instead of participating in power,” he writes, “the virtual citizen is invited to have ‘opinions’: measurable responses to questions predesigned to elicit them.”
Political campaigns rarely discuss substantive issues. They center on manufactured political personalities, empty rhetoric, sophisticated public relations, slick advertising, propaganda and the constant use of focus groups and opinion polls to loop back to voters what they want to hear. Money has effectively replaced the vote. Every current presidential candidate—including Bernie Sanders—understands, to use Wolin’s words, that “the subject of empire is taboo in electoral debates.” The citizen is irrelevant. He or she is nothing more than a spectator, allowed to vote and then forgotten once the carnival of elections ends and corporations and their lobbyists get back to the business of ruling.
“If the main purpose of elections is to serve up pliant legislators for lobbyists to shape, such a system deserves to be called ‘misrepresentative or clientry government,’ ” Wolin writes. “It is, at one and the same time, a powerful contributing factor to the depoliticization of the citizenry, as well as reason for characterizing the system as one of antidemocracy.”
The result, he writes, is that the public is “denied the use of state power.” Wolin deplores the trivialization of political discourse, a tactic used to leave the public fragmented, antagonistic and emotionally charged while leaving corporate power and empire unchallenged.
“Cultural wars might seem an indication of strong political involvements,” he writes. “Actually they are a substitute. The notoriety they receive from the media and from politicians eager to take firm stands on nonsubstantive issues serves to distract attention and contribute to a cant politics of the inconsequential.”
“The ruling groups can now operate on the assumption that they don’t need the traditional notion of something called a public in the broad sense of a coherent whole,” he said in our meeting. “They now have the tools to deal with the very disparities and differences that they have themselves helped to create. It’s a game in which you manage to undermine the cohesiveness that the public requires if they [the public] are to be politically effective. And at the same time, you create these different, distinct groups that inevitably find themselves in tension or at odds or in competition with other groups, so that it becomes more of a melee than it does become a way of fashioning majorities.”
16 comments
December 27, 2016 at 6:24 am
Steve Ruis
This is spot on, Arb!
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December 27, 2016 at 6:24 am
Carmen
Of course, YES, we should be worried. But the question that always forms in my mind after reading these sorts of articles is, “What can we do about it?” THAT’s what worries me.
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December 27, 2016 at 9:08 am
Vesuvius R. Kaine
Carmen,
What most people need to do is quite simple: stop whining and waiting for either a) a mob that they can surround themselves with in order to start feeling important, or b) somebody else to come around and solve their problems for them. As soon as people start acting like a leader on an individual level to improve their own lives first – like true leaders do – things start changing and things like what Wolin talks about above have little effect on you even if they are true.
How long have you known that what Ford said, or what Wolin said above is right? A week? A month? A year? Everyone knows their words are accurate (or at the very least, insightful) and almost everyone knows deep down what they should be doing to improve their own lives if they truly take some “sage’s” words to heart. Yet few will actually step up and do something about it.
The rest will sit back using helpless as an excuse, or waxing on about “What can we do?” (Note the “we” vs. “I” here) while they do nothing. Perhaps that’s not you, but rest assured most of society will be back here (online) in 12 months (or years) saying the exact same thing – yet still having done pretty much nothing.
I can answer the question of “What can we do?” because I’ve gone from someone the Totalitarian-types could prey upon to someone they now can’t. There’s more than enough examples in life and ways for people to get out from under what Wolin talks about. Step #1 is to change one’s worldview, Step #2 is to stop waiting for some mob or cavalry to save them, and Step #3 is to stop hanging around losers. Instead, be around those who have built a life where they don’t have to worry about anything – even that which isn’t in their control – and do what they do. People who have been where you are and are where you want to be. Finding those people isn’t hard, and doing what they do isn’t so hard either once someone truly grows some guts and makes a decision.
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December 27, 2016 at 9:13 am
Carmen
Is that you, Vern?
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December 27, 2016 at 9:32 am
Carmen
I’ll just assume it’s you, Vern. Has to be. For whatever reason, I see Kevin O’Leary’s face when I read your comments. Odd, that.
Perhaps I’ve assumed too much already but, judging from your previous comments on Arb’s threads, I’m going to guess that the answer to my question – from your point of view – is that one must get themselves in a financial position of independence to shield oneself from what’s happening in society. I’ll also assume – from your above comment – that you have the idea that I’m actively pursuing Step #’s 2 and 3.
I have grandchildren visiting so I’m a little distracted but perhaps you’ll indulge me by responding. After all, it is Christmas. :)
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December 27, 2016 at 11:09 am
The Arbourist
@Vern
Hello Vern, happy holidays and the best for you and yours in the New Year.
I would have to disagree there Vern. I’m gonna play the teacher card and even say that, in my professional experience, the average person doesn’t have a clue as to what Henry Ford said (maybe though, because he is a celebrated capitalist figure), and most certainly most do not know who Sheldon Wolin is.
The ignorance out there is fucking staggering. :) ( I say this with furor toward the systems that are mis-educating our citizenry, not the people themselves). I have taken a recent high-school graduate under my wing and have begun the process of educating her as to how the world works and the forces that make things are the way they are. I am consistently surprised at the gaping voids in her educational background (she’s at least a SD above the norm in intelligence, so it isn’t a lack of capacity).
Talk of colonialism, empire and neo-liberalism are not being taught, nor are any of the features of critical thinking that might make an active participatory citizen are being propagated.
I do what I can from within the system, but wowzers batman, be certain that, without exceptional dedication to finding out how things are,people most certainly don’t know, and more troublingly, don’t even know which questions to ask.
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December 28, 2016 at 8:53 pm
lovetruthcourage
Arb, your comment shows the deep need for all citizens to educate themselves, beyond the classroom and mainstream media. We still have excellent libraries in the USA. Using them to self-educate, and dive into books that take substantial intellectual effort, is the ultimate subversive act. People should not even bother with what to do, until they are deeply educated, beyond the “acceptable” range of thoughts prepackaged by elites. History has a tendency to repeat itself when humans place the cart before the horse. Who is trying to influence us, how and why?
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January 9, 2017 at 11:04 am
Vesuvius R. Kaine
Hi Carmen. Happy New Year and I sincerely hope you had a good Christmas with your grandchildren.
O’Leary – that’s an interesting one! Him and I have our differences for sure, but I can see how one would see similarities and assume both our comments come from the same worldview/mindset.
What I was trying to say was ditch the worry – it doesn’t do people much good and it clouds judgment when trying to fix immediate and closeby concerns. It keeps us from being resourceful and creative. Not saying don’t care, just care less (for now), and make the world smaller (for now). Worry less about the why of something and just deal with the what, and if someone like Trump or Hillary is driving one nuts (for instance), “shrink your world” so that there’s barely any reference of them in what one sees, hears, and experiences on a daily basis. When that happens, opportunities start showing up in a lot of places that even the poorest of us can take advantage of. I used to worry about a lot of things. Doing that, all I got was a big sense of entitlement, a huge heap of depression, and a whole lot of bills that went unpaid and it felt insurmountable. Going the route I just described, things got a lot better, and a lot better quickly. Care less now to do more later – who woulda thunk?
A more specific example about caring less to do more: I’m not a fan of drugs, or drug users. I have had serious problems in my distant past with both, and yet on the other hand I knew there were both undervalued companies and “dumb money” ready to pour into MMJ companies in Canada, looking for the next gold rush. Had I stuck to my “eff all stoners” (they’re lazy), or had stuck with some idea that I “hated” capitalism, Wall Street, the stock market, credit, etc., or dwelled on civil liberties, big government I would have never bought into the companies that I did (and by the way, by “bought into” I mean with less than $2,000) and never would have been able to add a zero to that investment in terms of return. Anyone (liberal or conservative) getting too hung up on their own emotions, self-righteousness, superiority of their intellect vs. the rest of the world, or whatever is bound to have both a big bag of worry and with it, a big bag of failure, eventually.
Last point I’ll make about the “worry” thing. Liberals tend to hate “faith” of any kind (Big F or small f), which to me goes hand-in-hand with worrying, which to me always guarantees someone’s shitty fate. (Granted, those on the right have worry, too, even with their so-called “Faith”, but to me that’s not true faith.) Get the right kind of faith and you can care less about the day-to-day. Care less about the day-to-day and the world can get smaller. If the world gets smaller then the problems get smaller, which means the opportunities get bigger, and then you have the headspace to capitalize on them. Once capitalized on, one can then try and change the world, and actually have some clout and fortitude within them to do so.
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January 9, 2017 at 11:14 am
Vesuvius R. Kaine
Hi Arb,
With respect I believe you slightly misread what I said (or perhaps I could have written it better). I wasn’t asking whether one had read Ford or Wolin, but rather for how long we already knew that what they were saying was true. I like how Emerson put it, that “In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.” I think to your point, though, what does that even matter anymore? People don’t read anymore.
Beyond that, I would agree with everything that you and lovetruthcourage said. Our TV’s grow bigger while our libraries and either desire or ability to read grows smaller. I think I share the same concerns regarding all citizenry that you and lovetruthcourage have in that regard, and with you being in the educational system, can just imagine how horrific it looks from your perspective.
“I have taken a recent high-school graduate under my wing and have begun the process of educating her as to how the world works and the forces that make things are the way they are.”
Um, this is kind of horrific to me, too, though. ;) Try and not go too Liberal on her, otherwise she will never get out from under those forces and will be broke and miserable forever. Remember: both capitalism AND faith (small “f”) can be good thing, unless one is a loser. :)
I only jest. I think it’s great that you’re mentoring someone. More highschoolers need it, I think, based upon the work I do and what I see with their effed up parents. :)
(Still working on that Vietnam book, btw.)
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January 9, 2017 at 11:36 am
Carmen
Well Vern, I was going to write a half-assed friendly comment back. But I decided to click on the moniker to your blog. Your ‘farewell’ entry really should have included a sneering selfie. Congratulations, though – you managed to insult a wide swath of individuals, I’ll give you that!
It’s ironic that you’d be suggesting people read more – in order to be successful and well-informed – when you obviously feel that money is the route to being a REAL ‘winner’. Sounds like you are a big wheel, too – good on ya!
As my mother used to say, though, you know what dogs do to wheels. :)
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January 12, 2017 at 5:31 pm
Vesuvius R. Kaine
Hi Carmen,
The insults toward those I had in mind were well-deserved. Their self-righteousness and hypocrisy were always at a maximum, their results always at a minimum (or non-existent), and their insults forever pathetic. Nonetheless…
“…when you obviously feel that money is the route to being a REAL ‘winner’.”
That’s being selective on what I’ve written. I’ve said often that people don’t have to be rich to be happy or fulfilled, and more than that I’m a huge believer that someone doesn’t need to be rich or “privileged” to improve their lot in life, if that’s what they want to do. What I really call out in my “Mic Drop” post is perpetual victimhood and convenient ignorance.
Anyone I know who is truly happy and truly fulfilled – rich or not, male or not, white or not – they all have the same mindset, and they’re all readers and students. Money doesn’t enter into that equation for me or them even if it typically follows.
A “big wheel” – haha. Hardly, in my mind, but all relative, I suppose. Funny comment about dogs pi$$ing, but it beats crawling through $hit Shawshank-style to get to where one wants/needs to be, doesn’t it?
Hope you’re having a good week. :)
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January 12, 2017 at 5:44 pm
Carmen
Vern, you make me chuckle. :) Although I have to raise my eyebrow at your qualifiers – rich, male, or white. . . cough. . .
I always have good weeks! I live in a beautiful part of the country, I see the ocean everyday, I work with teenagers (my favourite people!) and our grandchildren are around almost every day.
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January 14, 2017 at 9:40 am
Vesuvius R. Kaine
Hi Carmen,
Qualifiers as opposed to? Put any other in there and I believe what I said still applies.
Great that you have great weeks! Which part of the country do you live in? (and I guess which country for that matter?) Jealous that you see the ocean everyday. Not quite there yet myself, but working on it. And your work with teenagers, if I may ask? If you’ve told me before, I apologize.
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January 14, 2017 at 9:59 am
Carmen
I live in Nova Scotia, along the Bay of Fundy shore, and I’m a substitute teacher (High School).
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January 14, 2017 at 10:28 pm
Vesuvius R. Kaine
NS is a fabulous place. Have good friends from Glace Bay.
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January 15, 2017 at 9:25 am
Carmen
You won’t find many people here who don’t have a Cape Breton friend. As they would say, “Good, dear, GOOD!” :)
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