Definitions for labels must be accurate in order to convey the right message so that the masses can understand complex concepts at a moment's notice via language.
If I were to say that I am a "young man", that vague description could easily confuse most people, seeing as being a "young man" could variate from me being fresh out of high school, to being at the age where I was preparing to settle down and have children.
Paradoxically, if I were to say that "I'm a man who's young at heart", that composition of words would illustrate a universal understanding among the people. It'd signify the fact that, while I may be "getting up there" in age, I still have inner characteristics that one could reasonably compare to your average child.
There's no doubt from me that certain detractors who've come across Black Label Detroit will suggest that the ideas that I've been signal boosting on this publication, are, indeed, undoubtedly childlike.
However, I focus so much on the use of language here because, I believe (based upon my best research into the topic) that I coined a word/concept before seemingly at random and abruptly, changing the spelling of said word/concept despite making reference to the same phenomena.
What I'm referring to is the word "Capitocracy", which I used on April 4, 2025 when I published the inadequately short report on the "Corruptok" trend that appeared on the social media app Tiktok. While attempting to link an analysis of the struggles that Nigerian users of the app with the same issues that so-called "Westerners" like the various international readers of this publication suffer from when it comes to our disastrously out of touch and ignorant political class, I decided to use the term to denote the fact that, no matter where you exist on our shared home of Planet Earth, we're all being slighted by those who we've entrusted to bring about common prosperity.
Yet, I have come to reconsider the spelling of this amorphous group of "rulers", with my first use of the newer spelling "Capitacracy" in this publication coming in four months later in August 25, 2025 in reference to a project that I've since shelved. Now, however, I've come to think about the entire concept that I've constructed entirely differently.
The reason why I've decided to create a whole report dedicated to what would otherwise just be a normal and routine clarification? the theory of "Hauntology". Before anyone's eyes roll, I'll explain briefly:
Hauntology: The Concept of the Dead and it's Shadow in the New
To clumsily, sloppily, and poorly sum up the concept of "Hauntology", it's basically the literary marriage of the word "haunt" with the word "ontology" (which is the word for "the study of being"). The term was coined by French philosopher, and, sadly, pedophile apologist, Jean Jacques Derrida who used it to describe a state of being that was haunted by the past and lost futures. The concept is so widely cited because, in French, the word "ontology" and "Hauntology" are both pronounced the same way, yet, the distinction between the two concepts only exists in writing.
What the hell does that have to do with the concept of "Capitacracy" or "Capitocracy"? Well, on top of both words being pronounced the same way in English, I've developed a distinction between the two words, which marries the theories together.
Alright so, what is my meaning when I use the word "Capitacracy" or describe something as "Capitacratic"? I'll reference a portion of my excerpt from the August 25 report to illustrate my distinction:
'The breakdown of the World's "governments" and the grand supremacy of the Global Capitacracy over Republics, Social Democracies, Capitacratic Parliamentary systems, and rigid Autocracies lays bare to the people who suffer under these undead entities, that they hold our way of life in an unshakable vice-grip and refuse to relent and allow us to enjoy true economic and political Liberty.
The metaconflict of our age is obvious, there are only two paths ahead from here: Urban-centric governance that allows for the full Democratization of the abstract "economy" into a tangible, Authentic Democracy enjoyed by all, or, continued genocides, famines, wars, and eventually annihilation under the corpse of the undead Capitacratic nation-state.'
Some of you might be even more confused than before, but, I will explain: I use "Capitacracy" as a descriptor for a Worldwide Socioecopolitical order which is able to exert unimaginable power onto the countless different political structures that exist around us, even within "Democratic" structures like Parliaments, Democracies with high voter turnout, or statutory Republics, as well as "egalitarian" formations such as the supposed "enlightened" Social Democracies in Northern Europe. It's useful as a description for the current order that our species labours under, because, when you think about it long enough, there really doesn't exist any term for governments constructed in the interests of Capital in the same way that we currently use and abuse the term "Oligarchy" (which describes government in the interests of a few) even though during times of unprecedented government intervention such as the New Deal in America and the Marshall Plan in Europe, power was still heavily restricted to a small cadre of politicians.
Okay, so....... what's different about "Capitocracy"?
Okay so, something must be established before I'm able to continue this report unhindered: if you were to look up "Capitacracy" on Google Scholar, you'd never find a single reference to what I'm talking about in this text. Yet, looking up the term "Capitocracy" on Google Scholar yields a few actual results, with one source even using the term in the context of describing government in the interests of Capital. So, if there already exists a formally recognized (if limited) use of the word, why am I attempting to upend that?
Well, on top of enjoying man's divine ability to exercise Free Will, the lone book including extensive citations of the term has, more or less, failed to gain traction since it was published in 2019. So, this report is an attempt to revive the concept, not just for stuffy, highfalutin eggheads in academia, but also in popular consciousness to describe (what you will see as) an astute observation.
To breathe life into the meaning behind "Capitocracy" we have to subsume and annihilate an unhelpful concept that has been bouncing around Radical circles since the late 70s: the "professional managerial class" (PMC). On top of the acronym often being confused for the term "private military contractor", the term PMC was created to describe a very narrow, and now, extremely weakened group of "White collar professionals" that were gaining prominence in the waning days of the postwar era and who would go on to help energize the Conservative wave of the 80s.
But, this publication will recuperate this term's definition and, from now on, use "Capitocracy" to describe a broader, more comprehensive class of people than the term "PMC" could ever hope of analyzing. So....... who, exactly, counts as the "Capitocracy"? We'll define them as every single occupation that upholds the current Socioecopolitical order in the interests of Capital: the police, the armed forces, "finance bros", insurance auditors, debt collectors, real estate agents, establishment politicians/economists/media, bureaucrats working in local/state/federal government, your performatively friendly boss at work, the list could go on indefinitely. Anyone who is in a position of power which has the ability to upend your life for attempting to change, or, build a new system is a member of the Capitocracy.
You're kinda losing me, what does this have to do with "Hauntology" again?
The concept of the "Capitacracy"/"Capitocracy" is absolutely Hauntological in the way that it describes a Socioecopolitical order that is both chronically haunted by the past and the stalling out of any potential concepts for the future of Human development. Metro Detroit's history plays into the old American narrative that arrived during the supposed "golden age of Capitalism" when American manufacturing birthed the middle class. Now, it meekly clings on to the Auto Industry, an industry of yesteryear, out of pure desperation because the region's Capitocrats will suggest that our City doesn't have a future unless we willingly prop them up. Trade deals, automation, and union busting was supposed to make Metro Detroit thrive as a node in the World's markets for cutting edge cars, yet, what do we have to show for it? Where is the Middle Class? Why is the poorest big city in America about to give away billions of dollars to help tear down buildings that were supposed to represent corporate America's doubling down on reinvesting in Urban America?
I'll briefly talk about the solution to these issues here:
The Key to Overcoming the Capitacracy: Contextualize the Metaconflict, Unlearn "Locale Chauvinism, then, Collaborate & Conquer
The full answer to this question, as well as, what will be involved in the "Gonzo Government" will be elaborated upon soon, however, I feel that it is fitting to end this report by encouraging our readers/listeners to fully grasp a couple key concepts:
- First, the overarching conflict that faces Metro Detroit, the state of Michigan, the United States, and even, the entire Planet as a whole, is the fact that the rich, corporations, and the World's currencies are currently acquiring more liberties than ordinary people are being afforded. While this problem ignores our man-made arbitrary lines in dirt based on the strange inventions we know as "Cities" and "nation-states", gearing our responses to this crisis must be based upon local action. The policies that might help Metro Detroit will be different from the policies that'll help the province of Ontario, for example, but, with every victory that we achieve for establishing Authentic Democracies and Pluralistic Societies, we can look into what works to fit the needs of the people on the ground.
- Second, you have to kill the idea that you're somehow "superior" to someone else just because you're from a certain place. It's one thing to be proud about where you're from, however, within Metro Detroit as well as the majority of the World's economic empires, the (frankly and nakedly ignorant) superiority complex that some people have in regards to winning the lottery of birth does real damage to the potential social ties that could exist between races, religions, nationalities, etc. Whether you like it or not, you have to be a responsible Citizen of the World, step up and be mindful of the immense weight some carry around us just because they're deemed "unacceptable" by society.
- Finally, you'll forever run into roadblocks, frustrations, and setbacks attempting to "fight the good fight" all by yourself, if you Master and internalize the prior two points, then, you should understand the fact that you're more powerful as a part of a team. Become enmeshed in the World around you, get out of the house and find other people who agree. You won't save the World by yourself, stop, contemplate the best way for you to get involved locally, and think globally as you undertake your service.
The World that we want to build towards is in the process of being born, we MUST succeed for the sake of future generations.
Links & Sources:
1. Corruptok, a Showcase of the Global Capitocracy -https://blacklabeldetroit.blogspot.com/2025/04/corruptok-showcase-of-global-capitocracy.html
2. [MANIFESTO EXCERPT] Chapter 14: Capital & Cities in Crisis, Regional Governance Under the Capitacracy -https://blacklabeldetroit.blogspot.com/2025/08/manifesto-excerpt-chapter-14-capital.html
3. 1977 French Petition against Age of Consent Laws -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_petitions_against_age-of-consent_laws
4. Survive and Resist: The Definitive Guide to Dystopian Politics -https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yIl-DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA2013&dq=capitocracy&ots=c6oAsSrPZo&sig=QKr1sREKR2Y6BbCcP-VFLcPp9mc#v=onepage&q=capitocracy&f=false
5. On the Origins of the Professional-Managerial Class: An Interview with Barbara Ehrenreich -https://dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/on-the-origins-of-the-professional-managerial-class-an-interview-with-barbara-ehrenreich/
6. World War II and “The Golden Age of Capitalism” - https://www.thisiscapitalism.org/blog/world-war-ii-and-the-golden-age-of-capitalism
7. RenCen redevelopment team gears up to face the public -https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/commercial/cdb-ren-cen-cbo-20260810/
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