Despite its chest-beating rhetoric, President Trump's regime is actually brittle and fated for ineffectiveness, collapse or both.

Americans may be startled by the all-encompassing nature of the regime, but it’s nothing new. History has seen many examples of regimes consisting of an all-powerful leader who makes all the decisions and who is surrounded by sycophantic underlings ruling over weak institutions and using their positions as platforms for self-enrichment.

Such regimes aren’t just run-of-the-mill dictatorships, as dictators don’t always enjoy untrammeled authority and obedience. In fact, Trump’s second administration resembles totalitarian political systems characterized by omnipotent rulers who claim to know everything about the totality of human experience, who aspire to supervise, guide and mold that totality. Unsurprisingly, totalitarian leaders often have revolutionary agendas intended to change everything according to the leader’s taste.

Such regimes look strong, because omnipotent leaders usually project a powerful, masculine image as exceptionally wise, fearless and capable rulers. In reality, their systems suffer from a fatal flaw, one that also serves as the central organizing principle of the regime: hyper-centralization.

The most important contribution to the theory of totalitarian decay belongs to the brilliant Harvard University sociologist

© The Hill