Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Palgrave Macmillan
Book cover

Capitalism, Hegemony and Violence in the Age of Drones

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

Authors:
  1. Norman Pollack

    1. Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Examines a rightward shift in American politics from the 1930s (FDR's New Deal) to 2016 (end of the Obama era)
  • Chronicles the advance of neoliberal corporate capitalism and its interconnections with government, the militarization of US society, the emergence of proto-fascism in US politics, and the increasing irrelevance of international law
  • Applies a political economy-Marxist-Frankfurt school critique to 21st century phenomena, including drone warfare and the further advance of neoliberal capitalism and neoliberal politics during the Obama years

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (21 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
    Download chapter PDF

  3. Praxis: Customary Practice or Conduct

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 115-115
      Download chapter PDF

    2. Framework of Corporatism: Contrasts in Leadership (FDR vs. Obama)

      • Norman Pollack
      Pages 117-136

    3. Political Reflections: Education of a (Sometime) Radical

      • Norman Pollack
      Pages 137-167

    4. Master of Counterrevolution: Obama—Character and Policies

      • Norman Pollack
      Pages 169-194

    5. Butchers of the Beltway: Anatomy of “Legitimated Violence”

      • Norman Pollack
      Pages 195-215

    6. American/Israeli War Crimes: National Policies Engendering Fear

      • Norman Pollack
      Pages 217-244

    7. Contempt for the Law: Presidential Subterfuge

      • Norman Pollack
      Pages 245-262

    8. Nadir of Public Morality: The Age of the Drone

      • Norman Pollack
      Pages 263-297

    9. The Drone and Aberrant Government: Normalization of the Unthinkable

      • Norman Pollack
      Pages 299-323

    10. On Distance and Disconnection: Entering a Moral Black Hole

      • Norman Pollack
      Pages 325-345

    11. “Greater Leverage”: Military-Speak for Imperialism

      • Norman Pollack
      Pages 347-370

    12. A Moment in American Policy: The Death of Anwar al-Awlaki

      • Norman Pollack
      Pages 371-386
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

This book offers a critical analysis of the rise of the US to global hegemony against a background of increased erosion of democracy and rule of law, and a rising linear pattern of near-absolute capitalist development. The author argues that the significant shrinkage of the ideological spectrum globally, as a result of worrisome levels of business and government interpenetration, has created a dangerous 'prefascist configuration' whereby unthinkable levels of violence have been normalized through the use of technologies such as drones, increasingly condoned even by 'liberal' groups and the so-called political left. Using the example of the Obama administration and its increased reliance on drone assassinations, the volume makes a case for the dangers that lie in today's unique convergence of lack of transparency in government, business-government interpenetration, informal social regimentation, and militarization of capitalism.


Reviews

“Capitalism, Hegemony and Violence in the Age of Drones is very different from those masterful scholarly studies of nineteenth century Populism. It is an angry incisive critique of contemporary America’s political-economy, political culture, and imperial foreign policy. … Presents a truly scathing moral indictment of Barrack Obama’s presidency.” (Ronald.W.Edsworth, Socialism and Democracy, Vol. 33 (2), 2019)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA

    Norman Pollack

About the author

​Norman Pollack was Professor of History emeritus at Michigan State University and previously taught at Yale University and Wayne State University, USA.  His published works include The Populist Response to Industrial America, The Just Polity, and The Humane Economy. In his last years, he frequently wrote for the online magazine Counterpunch.

Bibliographic Information

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation