Can Democracy Survive in the 21st Century?: Oligarchy, tyranny, and ochlocracy in the age of global capitalism

ISBN-13: 9783030768232 / Angielski / Miękka / 2022

Ronald M. Glassman

Opis

This book analyzes the many threats to democracy that exist in the 21st century and tries to understand how democracy can survive economic, social and political crises. It focuses on issues of oligarchy, tyranny, totalitarianism, and ochlocracy. It discusses how these forms of governance manifested themselves in ancient and medieval worlds, and how socio-economic transitions in the 21st century have created conditions that increasingly pose similar threats to modern democracy. The author discusses broad transitions in the contemporary world: economic transition to advanced, high technology capitalism; cultural transition from traditional religious and family values to norms focusing on racial equality, gender and transgender equality and liberation, and multiculturalism; also, transition from the traditional religious worldview to rational-scientific worldview, and from religious morality to secular humanist ethics. These taken together undergird the political transition from traditional authority, involving monarchy and aristocracy, to rational-legal authority, involving constitutional law and democratic participation. The book shows, through extensive country discussions, that whenever these transitions become difficult, undemocratic forms of governance may emerge and override democracy. Authored by an expert in the field, this book touches upon an especially topical theme in the contemporary world and is of interest to a wide readership across the social sciences, from researchers and students to discerning laypersons.

Spis treści

​Part I: THE RICH AGAINST DEMOCRACY

Chapter 1: Oligarchy, Democracy, and Tyranny in the City-States of the Ancient World

Chapter 2: Renaissance Italian City-States:  The Triumph of Oligarchy and Tyranny

Chapter 3: Oligarchy and Democracy in the German and Dutch Trade-Capitalist and Reformation City-States

Chapter 4: Oligarchy and Democracy in the Dutch Republic and Great Britain: The Emergence of Representative Democracy

Chapter 5: The Structure of High Technology Global Capitalism

Chapter 6: The Realignment of the Political Parties in the Advanced Capitalist Nations

Chapter 7: Global Capitalism vs. Geo-Political Nationalism

Chapter 8: The Managerial and Entrepreneurial Rich Take a Huge Percentage of the Wealth to Themselves

Chapter 9: Taxing the Rich

Part II: THE POOR AGAINST DEMOCRACY

Chapter 10: Aristotle on the Problem of a Majority Poor

Chapter 11: Africa and the Traditional Poor

Chapter 12: The Middle East:  The Sunni-Shia Split; Radical Islam; Tribalism; and Oil

Chapter 13: The Poor, The Military, and Tyranny

Part III: TYRANNY

Chapter 14: The Origins of Tyranny: From the War Chief and Shaman to Divine Kingship

Chapter 15: The Emergence of Tyranny Without Traditional Kingship

Chapter 16: Oligarchy, Democracy, and Tyranny in the Italian City-States

Chapter 17: Tyranny During the English and French Revolutions: Cromwell, Napoleon and Louis Napoleon

Chapter 18: From Tyranny to Totalitarianism in the Twentieth Century: Fascism and Nazism, Mass Mobilization and Mass Murder

Chapter 19: From Tyranny to Totalitarianism in the Twentieth Century: Communism – Utopian Dreams and Totalitarianism Reality

Chapter 20: Totalitarianism: Tyranny Taken to a Terrifying Level Totalitarianism as a New Political Phenomenon

Chapter 21: Illiberal Democracy: A New Form of Modern Tyranny

Part IV: OCHLOCRACY: MOB RULE AND CROWD PSYCHOLOGY IN THE CYBERSPHERE

Chapter 22: Ochlocracy as a Critique of Democracy in the Ancient Greek World

Chapter 23: Ochlocracy Disappears:  The Rise of Representative Democracy

Chapter 24: Ochlocracy in the Cybersphere

Part V: THE MODERN TRANSITION: A FOURFOLD PROCESS – ECONOMIC, CULTURAL, WORLDVIEW, AND POLITICAL

Chapter 25: The Economic Transition to High Technology Industrial Capitalism

Chapter 26: The Cultural Transition: The Cultural Transition: From Traditional Religious Family and “Tribal” Values to the “Politically Correct” Values, on Racial Equality, Gender Equality, Gay Liberation, and Multiculturalism

Chapter 27: The New Worldview: The Rational Scientific Worldview, and, Secular Humanism

Chapter 28: The Political Transition: From Traditional Authority (Monarchy) to Electoral Democracy with Legal-Rational Authority

O autorze

Ronald Glassman, PhD, is a sociologist. He has taught at New York University, Connecticut College, the City University of New York, and William Paterson University. Professor Glassman is a specialist in historical sociology and has authored many books on democracy, including The Origins of Democracy in Tribes, City-States and Nation-States (2 vols.); The Middle Class and Democracy in Socio-Historical Perspective; The New Middle Class and Democracy in Global Perspective; Caring Capitalism; China in Transition: Communism, Capitalism, Democracy; Democracy and Equality (with William Swatos, Jr.); Charisma, History, and Social Structure; and other books. Glassman teaches at The Stern College for Women, New York.