Overview
Combines theory and history in order to critique authoritarianism
Looks at changes in capitalism itself and their impact on the working class
Pays attention to policies that have divided the working class, and their contribution to the rise in authoritarianism
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Table of contents (10 chapters)
Keywords
- New Authoritarianism
- authoritarian turn
- liberalism
- liberal democracy
- social justice
- community activism
- civic participation
- Universal Basic Income
- tax credits
- wage subsidies
- poverty traps
- Welfare-to-work
- workfare
- coercive state
- global capitalism
- mobility of capital
- militarism
- sustainability
- financial uncertainty
- future of freedom
About this book
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was assumed that liberal democracies would flourish worldwide. Instead, today authoritarian leaders are gaining power – from Trump’s US and Bolsonaro's Brazil to Orban's Hungary – while Russia and China have turned back towards their old, autocratic traditions. This book examines the origins and implications of this shift, and focusses especially on the longstanding coercion of poor people. As industrial employment, and now also many service jobs, are being replaced through technological innovations, state-subsidised, low-paid, insecure work is being enforced through regimes of benefits cuts and sanctions. Authoritarians are exploiting the divisions in the working class that this creates to stoke resentment against immigrants and poor people. The author identifies new social movements and policies (notably the Universal Basic Income) which could counter these dangers.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bill Jordan is Honorary Professor of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of Plymouth, UK. He has authored more than 25 books on politics, economic and social policy, social work and migration, including Automation and Human Solidarity (2020) and The Age of Disintegration (2020). He held visiting professorships in the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Authoritarianism and How to Counter It
Authors: Bill Jordan
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17211-4
Publisher: Palgrave Pivot Cham
eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-17210-7Published: 20 May 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-17211-4Published: 08 May 2019
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: X, 144
Topics: Political Theory, Democracy, International Political Economy