Power Shift

 Undoing the Demos -  Neoliberalism's Stealth Revolution  by Wendy Brown

Neoliberalism has changed both the way we think about democracy and how governments choose to govern.    Undoing the Demos - Neoliberalism's Stealth Revolution is one of the best books we have found  on this topic.   Berkeley professor Wendy  Brown focuses on two themes.  The first is the systematic way in which neoliberalism has fundamentally shifted our value system to one where individual economic goals override political and societal concerns.  The second is how the state has been remade from one founded on juridical sovereignty to one founded on corporate management techniques.  The end result is the undoing of democracy and the neutering of the  the power of government.

Here is a synopsis in point form  of  Undoing the Demos.
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Coping with Post-Democracy by Colin Crouch

Colin Crouch, a British academic, was the first to coin the phrase Post-Democracy to explain how power has shifted from democratically elected governments to huge dominant corporations within the framework of our democratic structures. 

Here is a synopsis of Coping with Post-Democracy.
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The Unconscious Civilization by John Ralston Saul

Some people just see things long before others do.  In his classic 1994 book, The Unconscious Civilization, John Ralston Saul outlined how our democratic society has been hijacked by a dominant ideology – corporatism. The acceptance of corporatism has caused us to undermine the legitimacy of the individual as a citizen. The result is "passivity and conformity in those areas which matter and non-conformity in those areas which don’t matter".     

Here is a synopsis, in point form, of The Unconscious Civilization.
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Ascent of Giants  by Jordan Brennan

Ascent of Giants, the 60+ page 2015 study by Jordan Brennan, contrasts what we are told about the benefits of trade agreements and investment liberalization with the much more negative reality reflected in meaningful statistics.  He highlights how NAFTA has led to the growth of huge firms, increased corporate investment abroad and enormous CEO salaries.  Brennan demonstrates the correlation between the above and increasing inequality in Canada. Click here  for excerpts (in point form) from Brennan’s study.

Guardian Article on the Millenial Generation

​"The global conditions that enabled a middle-class existence are evaporating, and are being replaced by an economic system whose function is the transfer of wealth to the lucky few."  According to this Op Ed, Millenials are experiencing this first hand with little sympathy from Baby Boomers .