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"Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the threat of Inverted Totalitarianism," by Sheldon Wollin
There is always a threat that democracy can decay into tyranny. But the classic tyrannies of the 20th century are not the only form tyranny can take. Could democracy itself be a more effective and efficient means of controlling a population than the tyrants, torture chambers and gulags we typically associate with tyranny? Has democracy in the United States of America effectively become an invisible tyranny through which an unseen elite rule a citizenry distracted by mock issues and placated by a meaningless electoral process? “Democracy, Inc., ….Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism” by Sheldon S. Wolin asks and answers these questions. This book, more than any other I have read of late, will challenge your concepts of the system in which we live. It is loaded with thought provoking questions, quotable lines and beautifully stated ideas. If you have the distinct feeling that there is more to the problems confronting American politics than meets the eye, this book will greatly enhance your understanding. It is not light reading. Nor is its message reassuring. But if there is to be any possibility that we Americans can achieve a government that comes closer to our ideal of democracy we must first understand how and why the government we have is so completely failing that ideal.
The entire text of this book is available for free on line at libcom.org.
A wonderful and far more detailed synopsis of Wolin’s book, written by Chalmers Johnson, can be found here. (Note: In that review after the first 10 paragraphs the first 8 paragraphs are repeated. This might give you a brief de ja vu experience. But it might just be beneficial to read them again. You’ll get more out of them on second reading. That’s how this book is. )
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