**Notes**


argues that the dominance of neoliberal capitalism has resulted in an inverted totalitarian system in which the state is used to legitimate and extend the power of the market (the new sovereign with political and economic elite sovereign classes), through legal privatization of previously public institutions, deregulation, austerity measures, and the expansion of money's influence in the political process. Moreover, non-state institutions such as corporations, think tanks, lobbying groups, etc., (sovereign classes) work closely with the state to deregulate and privatize the common. Inverted totalitarian systems, Wolin argues, project power inward by "combining with other forms of power, such as evangelical religion, and most notably encouraging a symbiotic relationship between traditional governmen<sup>t</sup> and the system of 'private' governance represented by the modern corporation" (p. xvi). The accumulation of the various forms of power means there is no clear leader or sovereign of the system, as there would be in a totalitarian system (p. 44). In totalitarian states, there is a dictator who is sovereign, while in inverted totalitarian societies there are many leaders from different parts of society (e.g., political, economic, religious—sovereign classes) who support and shape the totalitarian system. Because there is no clear, single institution or person involved in using the state, it becomes impossible to locate the leaders who are responsible, heightening a sense of helplessness and futility among many citizens. I would add that while the center of power is difficult to locate, citizens may continue to believe in democracy and believe that the power resides in traditional governmen<sup>t</sup> institutions and in the democratic citizenry when, in fact, it is diffused over a wide area and subservient to the needs of the market god (Cox 2016).

