American democracy, argues Charles Derber, is being subverted in the name of democracy itself. Derber shows how the current regime has maintained power by intensifying the red/blue culture wars—supporting religious extremists, exploiting terrorism fears, and manipulating the electoral process. And he reveals our best hope for positive change: an alliance between the Democratic Party and another source of hidden power—the grass roots progressive movements that have always been catalysts for change. Thoughtful, eloquent, and compelling, Hidden Power offers real hope for restoring genuine democracy to America.

In this groundbreaking follow up to Regime Change Begins at Home, Charles Derber examines what is behind the rise of the corporate regime in America and what we can do to realign ourselves against it.

.DOUBLE MEANING OF "HIDDEN POWER:" the book deals with two kinds of hidden power-the power behind "who really rules America," and the power of the American people to change the system

.REVEALS THE NATURE OF THE ELECTION TRAP: Unless you build a real movement toward more fundamental change, regime change, nothing is going to change even if you win the election.

.TIMELESS: Hidden Power takes the timeless element of Regime Change Begins at Home and expands it into a classic commentary on the phenomenon of elections rather than the 2004 election: 6 of the 9 chapters are new, and 3 are revised versions of chapters that first appeared in Regime Change Begins at Home.

Republican? Democrat? Red? Blue? According to Charlie Derber, it's all the same. In Hidden Power, Derber exposes how political and cultural forces have prevented us from seeing the fundamental structure of power (the regime) and from seeing our own powers for changing it. This book will help citizens from all across party lines to understand the difference between the power of parties (and electoral victories) from the power of regimes, and show them that it's up to them to support regime change.

“If you're feeling assaulted on all fronts—by militarism, outsourcing, the Patriot Act or the culture wars—here's a book that puts it all together brilliantly. Derber's analyses of the turn toward fascism, the post-2004 morals debate, and what the Democratic Party needs to do are eye opening and powerful."
—Juliet Schor, author of Born to Buy and The Overworked American

“A powerful argument about who really rules America. Read it to see how ordinary citizens are reinventing the populist and progressive traditions to challenge the ruling regime, democratize the Democratic Party, and change the direction of an America gone haywire.”
—Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States

“… a real-life plan on how to counter the corporate control of our democracy, avert a fascist takeover, and build an empowered citizens’ movement."
—Medea Benjamin, cofounder of Global Exchange and CodePink

“A remarkably lucid depiction of how we have come to stand on the cusp of fascism, what that precipice looks like, and what we can do to back away and move toward more rather than less democracy.”
—George Ritzer, author of The McDonaldization of America

“… a timely and very valuable guide to the constructive action that is within our reach, and badly needed to overcome threats that are imminent and severe.”
—Noam Chomsky

“[Derber] offers the real scoop on war, money, power, and ‘moral values’ that the mass media refuse to report…. and he gives a step by step agenda for how to defang the bloody warriors of Washington and Wall Street.”
—Larry Beinhart, author of Wag the Dog