02302cam a2200277 i 4500 615166983 TxAuBib 20230215120000.0 220608s2023||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2022019093 9780593185230 HRD 30.00 0593185234 HRD 30.00 TxAuBib rda Sexton, Jared Yates, author. The midnight kingdom [BOOK] : a history of power, paranoia, and the coming crisis / Jared Yates Sexton. New York : Dutton, [2023] 368 pages ; 24 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references and index. To fully understand these strange and dangerous times, Jared Yates Sexton takes a hard look at our nation’s history: namely, the abuses committed by those in power and the comforting stories that shaped the way the West has viewed itself up to the present. As reactionaries and authoritarians cling to myths about “Western civilization,” The Midnight Kingdom exposes how political power, religious indoctrination, and economic dominance have been repeatedly weaponized to oppress and exploit, sounding an alarm for what lies ahead as the current order frays. Beginning with the Roman Empire and racing through centuries of colonization, war, genocide, and the recurring clashes of progress and regression, Sexton finds our modern world at a crossroads. In an echo of past crises, we have arrived at a time of historic inequality and a fading trust in our institutions. Meanwhile, authoritarianism is gaining momentum and the progress of the twentieth century is being rolled back at dizzying speed. This catastrophic moment holds terrible potential for a return to a totalitarian past or, potentially, a better, realer, more human future. The difference depends on a true reckoning with our history and the larger forces at play or hiding behind this disastrous fantasy of Western superiority. Provided by publisher. 20230215. Civilization, Western History. Group identity Political aspects Western countries.