Wired for Authoritarianism

American Oligarchies and How to Re-Wire America for the People
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-26755-3
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 208 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Universalizing Resistance

In contrast to much of the current literature that treats Trump’s authoritarianism as new and singular, this book shows that authoritarianism in the United States instead has a long history that explains the extent to which authoritarianism has been embraced by large sections of US voters.

Wired for Authoritarianism combines historical analysis with an innovative conceptual analysis of the “wiring” of power, drawing on the study of the power elite developed by the sociologist C. Wright Mills and neo-Marxist literature. Connecting the social and political culture of the elite to the ideas of state and societal capture, as well as novel concepts of covert and overt wiring of power, this book argues that the Trump era has moved America from a long-standing, mainly covert authoritarian structure toward a more dominant and overt authoritarianism – from a position in which oligarchs exercise power from outside of official government positions, to one in which corporate oligarchs are directly in top government positions.

This book offers original insights and sober hope for all those seeking deep and sustainable democracy in America, summarizing strategies drawn from history and current anti-authoritarian movements to defeat this new turn and create a new democratic wiring of America for the people. This book will be of interest to students, scholars and activists with an interest in political sociology, political economy, and social movements in the US.

Zielgruppe

General, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core

Autoren/Hrsg.

Derber, Charles

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Soziale Gruppen & Klassen
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein Gesellschaftstheorie
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Demokratie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Wirtschaftssoziologie, Arbeitssoziologie, Organisationssoziologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Totalitarismus & Diktaturen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction: Our Hidden Wiring: America’s Blueprint for Authoritarianism; 1. Capitalism And Democracy: Myth Vs Reality; 2. Covert: The Wiring of America’s Two Historic Oligarchies
With Yale R. Magrass; 3. Overt: Unmasked Authoritarianism in the Trump Era; 4. The American Road to Fascism: Rewiring Universities, Media, And Families; 5. Rewiring America for the People: Economic and Social Democracy; 6. Rewiring Resistance: Politics, Parties, And Protest

Über Autor(innen)

Charles Derber is professor of sociology at Boston College, USA. He is the author of 30 books, most recently Dying for Capitalism (Routledge, 2023) Who Owns Democracy (Routledge, 2024), Bonfire (Routledge, 2025), and Fighting Oligarchy (Routledge, 2026).