Capitalist Dictatorship: A Study of Its Social Systems, Dimensions, Forms and Indicators

by Milan Zafirovski

Overview

Milan Zafirovski identifies and investigates the resurgence of capitalist dictatorship in contemporary society, especially after 2016. This book introduces the concept of capitalist dictatorship to the academic audience for the first time. It examines the capitalist dictatorship as a total social system composed of specific systems such as a coercive economy, repressive polity, illiberal civil society and irrational culture in contrast to liberal democracy. It also investigates multiple dimensions, forms and indicators of capitalist dictatorship, and calculates degrees of capitalist dictatorship for contemporary Western and comparable societies such as OECD countries. Capitalist dictatorship, including autocracy, Zafirovski argues, is the gravest threat to contemporary democratic society post-2016.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789004459205
Publisher:	Brill Academic Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/30/2021
Series:	Studies in Critical Social Sciences Series , #187
Pages:	472
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Milan Zafirovski, Ph.D. (1999), Florida International University, is Professor in the Department of Sociology at University of North Texas, USA. He has published various articles and books, including Identifying a Free Society (Brill, 2017) and Modernity and Terrorism (Brill, 2013).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
List of Figures and Tables

1 Introduction
 1 The Concept of Capitalist Dictatorship
 2 A Sociological Study of Capitalist Dictatorship—General Outlines

2 Capitalist Dictatorship as an Economic System
 1 Negative Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship
 2 Positive Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship
 3 Economic Forms and Agents of Capitalist Dictatorship
  3.1 Capitalist Autocracy
  3.2 Capitalist Dynasty
  3.3 Capitalist Plutocracy, Oligarchy, and Aristocracy
  3.4 Secondary Forms and Agents of Capitalist Dictatorship
  3.5 Plutocracy and Secondary Forms and Agents of Capitalist Dictatorship
 4 Economic Indicators and Proxies of Capitalist Dictatorship
  4.1 Indicators and Proxies of Economic Coercion, Oppression and Non-democracy
   4.1.1 Suppression of Unionization
   4.1.2 Restriction of the Scope of Unionization
   4.1.3 Suppression of Collective Bargaining
   4.1.4 Suppression of Codetermination
 4.2 Indicators and Proxies of Economic Inequality, Degradation and Deprivation
   4.2.1 Extreme Concentration of Wealth
   4.2.2 Extremely Unequal Income Distribution
   4.2.3 Economic Degradation, Deprivation and Hardship
   4.2.4 Economic Exploitation and Non-protection and Insecurity

3 Capitalist Dictatorship as a Political Regime
 1 Moving from Economy to Polity, Transforming Economic to Political Domination
 2 Negative Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship as a Political Regime
 3 Positive Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship as a Political Regime
 4 Political Forms and Agents of Capitalist Dictatorship
  4.1 Capitalist Autocracy as a Political Regime
  4.2 Capitalist Dynasty as a Political Regime
  4.3 Capitalist Plutocracy, Aristocracy and Oligarchy as a Political Regime
  4.4 Secondary Forms of Capitalist Dictatorship as Political Regimes
 5 Political Indicators and Proxies of Capitalist Dictatorship
  5.1 Suppression of Political Freedoms and Rights
   5.1.1 Suppression of Voting and Related Political Freedoms and Rights
   5.1.2 Suppression of Free Political Competition for Power
   5.1.3 Suppression of Political ‘Voice’
  5.2 Concentration of Political Power
   5.2.1 Mistreatment and Subordination of Non-capital Groups
   5.2.2 Denial of Equal Political Freedoms and Rights
   5.2.3 Suppression of Political Pluralism and Imposition of Ideological Monism
   5.2.4 Unequal Legal Treatment
  5.3 Severe Penal Repression and Punishment
   5.3.1 ‘Law and Order’ for Non-capitalists, Lawlessness for Capital
   5.3.2 Political Terror: Mass Imprisonment, Executions, Violations of Human Rights
  5.4 Militarism
   5.4.1 The Military-Capitalist Complex and Aggressive Wars
   5.4.2 Militarized Political Repression

4 Capitalist Dictatorship as Civil Society
 1 Capitalist Dictatorship and Civil Society
 2 Negative Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship as Civil Society
 3 Positive Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship as Civil Society
 4 Forms and Agents of Capitalist Dictatorship as Civil Society
  4.1 Capitalist Autocracy and Dynasty in Civil Society
  4.2 Capitalist Plutocracy, Oligarchy, and Aristocracy in Civil Society
  4.3 Secondary Forms of Capitalist Dictatorship in Civil Society
 5 Indicators and Proxies of Capitalist Dictatorship as Civil Society
  5.1 Suppression of Individual Liberty and Other Civil Liberties
   5.1.1 Denial of Personal Freedom of Moral Choice
  5.2 Negation of Civil and Other Human Rights
  5.3 Criminalization and Severe Sanctioning of Moral Offenses
  5.4 Moralistic-Religious Terror
   5.4.1 Massive Populations of Prisoners of Ethical Conscience

5 Capitalist Dictatorship as a Cultural System
 1 Capitalist Dictatorship and Culture
 2 Negative Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship as a Cultural System
 3 Positive Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship as a Cultural System
 4 Forms and Agents of Capitalist Dictatorship as a Cultural System
 5 Indicators and Proxies of Capitalist Dictatorship as a Cultural System
  5.1 Suppression of Artistic and Cultural Liberties and Devaluation of the Arts and Culture
  5.2 Extreme and Compulsory Religiosity
  5.3 Obstruction and Suppression of Scientific Progress and Freedom
  5.4 Persistence of Widespread Religious Superstitions

6 Degrees of Capitalist Dictatorship for Contemporary Societies
 1 Summary and Specification of Societal Indicators of Capitalist Dictatorship
  1.1 Economic Indicators
  1.2 Political Indicators
  1.3 Civil-Society Indicators
  1.4 Cultural Indicators
 2 Measures of Capitalist Dictatorship
  2.1 Economic Measures
  2.2 Political Measures
  2.3 Civil-Society Measures
  2.4 Cultural Measures
 3 Calculation of the Degrees of Capitalist Dictatorship
 4 Degrees of Capitalist Dictatorship for Western and Comparable Societies

7 Conclusion

Appendix 1 Capitalist Dictatorship in the Literature
Appendix 2 Data on Capitalist Dictatorship Measures
References
Index