Capitalist Dictatorship

Milan Zafirovski is Professor in the Department of Sociology at University of North Texas. He has published various articles and books, including Identifying a Free Society (Haymarket, 2018) and Modernity and Terrorism (Haymarket, 2014).

• AcknowledgementsList of Figures and Tables1 Introduction1 The Concept of Capitalist Dictatorship2 A Sociological Study of Capitalist Dictatorship—General Outlines2 Capitalist Dictatorship as an Economic System1 Negative Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship2 Positive Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship3 Economic Forms and Agents of Capitalist Dictatorship3.1 Capitalist Autocracy3.2 Capitalist Dynasty3.3 Capitalist Plutocracy, Oligarchy, and Aristocracy3.4 Secondary Forms and Agents of Capitalist Dictatorship3.5 Plutocracy and Secondary Forms and Agents of Capitalist Dictatorship4 Economic Indicators and Proxies of Capitalist Dictatorship4.1 Indicators and Proxies of Economic Coercion, Oppression and Non-democracy4.1.1 Suppression of Unionization4.1.2 Restriction of the Scope of Unionization4.1.3 Suppression of Collective Bargaining4.1.4 Suppression of Codetermination4.2 Indicators and Proxies of Economic Inequality, Degradation and Deprivation4.2.1 Extreme Concentration of Wealth4.2.2 Extremely Unequal Income Distribution4.2.3 Economic Degradation, Deprivation and Hardship4.2.4 Economic Exploitation and Non-protection and Insecurity3 Capitalist Dictatorship as a Political Regime1 Moving from Economy to Polity, Transforming Economic to Political Domination2 Negative Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship as a Political Regime3 Positive Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship as a Political Regime4 Political Forms and Agents of Capitalist Dictatorship4.1 Capitalist Autocracy as a Political Regime4.2 Capitalist Dynasty as a Political Regime4.3 Capitalist Plutocracy, Aristocracy and Oligarchy as a Political Regime4.4 Secondary Forms of Capitalist Dictatorship as Political Regimes5 Political Indicators and Proxies of Capitalist Dictatorship5.1 Suppression of Political Freedoms and Rights5.1.1 Suppression of Voting and Related Political Freedoms and Rights5.1.2 Suppression of Free Political Competition for Power5.1.3 Suppression of Political ‘Voice’5.2 Concentration of Political Power5.2.1 Mistreatment and Subordination of Non-capital Groups5.2.2 Denial of Equal Political Freedoms and Rights5.2.3 Suppression of Political Pluralism and Imposition of Ideological Monism5.2.4 Unequal Legal Treatment5.3 Severe Penal Repression and Punishment5.3.1 ‘Law and Order’ for Non-capitalists, Lawlessness for Capital5.3.2 Political Terror: Mass Imprisonment, Executions, Violations of Human Rights5.4 Militarism5.4.1 The Military-Capitalist Complex and Aggressive Wars5.4.2 Militarized Political Repression4 Capitalist Dictatorship as Civil Society1 Capitalist Dictatorship and Civil Society2 Negative Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship as Civil Society3 Positive Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship as Civil Society4 Forms and Agents of Capitalist Dictatorship as Civil Society4.1 Capitalist Autocracy and Dynasty in Civil Society4.2 Capitalist Plutocracy, Oligarchy, and Aristocracy in Civil Society4.3 Secondary Forms of Capitalist Dictatorship in Civil Society5 Indicators and Proxies of Capitalist Dictatorship as Civil Society5.1 Suppression of Individual Liberty and Other Civil Liberties5.1.1 Denial of Personal Freedom of Moral Choice5.2 Negation of Civil and Other Human Rights5.3 Criminalization and Severe Sanctioning of Moral Offenses5.4 Moralistic-Religious Terror5.4.1 Massive Populations of Prisoners of Ethical Conscience5 Capitalist Dictatorship as a Cultural System1 Capitalist Dictatorship and Culture2 Negative Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship as a Cultural System3 Positive Definition and Specification of Capitalist Dictatorship as a Cultural System4 Forms and Agents of Capitalist Dictatorship as a Cultural System5 Indicators and Proxies of Capitalist Dictatorship as a Cultural System5.1 Suppression of Artistic and Cultural Liberties and Devaluation of the Arts and Culture5.2 Extreme and Compulsory Religiosity5.3 Obstruction and Suppression of Scientific Progress and Freedom5.4 Persistence of Widespread Religious Superstitions6 Degrees of Capitalist Dictatorship for Contemporary Societies1 Summary and Specification of Societal Indicators of Capitalist Dictatorship1.1 Economic Indicators1.2 Political Indicators1.3 Civil-Society Indicators1.4 Cultural Indicators2 Measures of Capitalist Dictatorship2.1 Economic Measures2.2 Political Measures2.3 Civil-Society Measures2.4 Cultural Measures3 Calculation of the Degrees of Capitalist Dictatorship4 Degrees of Capitalist Dictatorship for Western and Comparable Societies7 ConclusionAppendix 1 Capitalist Dictatorship in the LiteratureAppendix 2 Data on Capitalist Dictatorship MeasuresReferencesIndex