ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the evolution of economic and political power in modern capitalist society, with an eye toward historical forces that have traditionally given rise to fascist reaction – the same forces likely to do so in the future. The main focus is on the logic of capitalist rationalization and corporate globalization as theorized by Karl Marx, Max Weber, the Frankfurt School, and others. For the U.S., C. Wright Mills employed a combination of Marxist and Weberian categories to chart the development of an integrated power elite based on a convergence of corporate, government, and military interests that were expanding in the wake of World War II. In this context crucial elements of democratic politics have been increasingly undermined, leading to the eclipse of liberalism while paving the way toward more authoritarian and oligarchic forms of state-capitalism.
