Equality, Democracy, Institutions, and Growth

Conservatism, democracy, and authoritarianism liberty, social control, and conservative revolutions

“…As the above intimates, this mutation of democracy into semi-theocracy is not a random event, but an evolutionary process and a sys- describe as plutocracy, in conjunction with semitheocracy as well as oligarchy. For instance, Weber observes that the U.S. conservative political system is essentially "naked plutocracy" and thus by implication pseudo-or nondemocratic so long as the latter represents "dictatorship of the rich, for the rich and by the rich" (Niggle 1998). He also notices that this plutocracy tends to be closely linked with semitheocracy in a fusion between the "dictatorship of the wealthy" and the tyranny of Puritanism.…”

“…In a similar vein, Pareto detects that U.S. democracy is "tending more and more to become demagogic plutocracy" and/or oligarchy, as epitomized by the infamous "political machine." Like Weber, he uncovers a linkage between demagogic plutocracy or political oligarchy and semi-theocracy in the U.S. government's penchant for imposition of "morality by law," specifically the tyranny of Puritanism, i.e., a coalition between economic, political, and moral-religious entrepreneurs (Munch 2001 politics plutocracy frequently (though not invariably) displays symptoms of the "dictatorship of the wealthy" (Niggle 1998).…”

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Authoritarianism

“…As US religious conservatives admit with no regret, Puritanism or conservative Protestantism always stressed "respect for the established order, leadership by the favored few" (Dunn and Woodard 1996:84), and thus antiegalitarian and nondemocratic ideas, values and practices. Prima facie, Puritan "leadership by the favored few" is another designation for aristocracy or oligarchy, plutocracy, if the "few" are, as typically, wealthy, as the "dictatorship" of the rich (Niggle 1998), and theocracy, if these ruling groups are, as often, "godly" people or "saints. "…”

Labor Markets’ Institutional Properties And Distributive Justice In Modern Society: A Comparative Empirical Analysis

“…If so, this correspondence is instrumental in the observed mutation of American meritocracy (and democracy) into, to quote Pareto, Michels, and Mills, a demagogic plutocracy -i.e. 'dictatorship' by the rich (Niggle, 1998) -oligarchy, or power-elite rule. As hinted, the latter is exemplified in the US capitalist-state alliance engaging in a sort of 'friendly fascism' (Bonefeld, 2002, p. 145) at home and, perhaps as a corollary, a 'bellicose but moralistic foreign policy, including various old and new manifestations of imperialism and aggressive use of 'smart' weapons of mass destruction against demonized non-Western settings' (Tiryakian, 2002(Tiryakian, , p. 1630.…”