Inverted Totalitarianism

Below is an eight-part conversation between Chris Hedges and Sheldon Wolin (1922-2015) about, what Wolin called, “Inverted Totalitarianism.” Briefly: Classic Totalitarianism = Politics trumps economics; Inverted Totalitarianism = Economics trumps politics. This is a conversation about political philosophy and a history of, primarily, American “democratic” politics and its precarious social institutions.

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Wolin’s major books are:

Politics and Vision: Continuity and Innovation in Western Political Thought (Part I – 1960; Part II – 2004)

Tocqueville Between Two Worlds: The Making of a Political and Theoretical Life, 2001.

Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism, 2008.

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