Definitions by Abzugal
Authoritarian Financialization
A critical term for how financialization—the domination of finance over the productive economy—operates as an authoritarian force. Financial markets impose discipline on governments (austerity), corporations (shareholder value), and individuals (debt). Those who cannot pay are subjected to wage garnishment, asset seizure, and credit exclusion. Authoritarian financialization is the power of bondholders over democracy, of credit scores over life chances, of debt over dignity. It rules not through soldiers but through compound interest and the threat of bankruptcy.
Authoritarian Financialization Example: “The city declared bankruptcy to cut pensions and sell public assets—authoritarian financialization, where bondholders’ claims override workers’ lives.”
Totalitarian Financialization
An intensification of authoritarian financialization, arguing that finance has become totalitarian: it colonizes every domain of existence, from education (student loans) to health (medical debt) to housing (mortgages). It trains people to think of themselves as portfolios, to optimize their credit scores, and to accept that financial risk is the horizon of all decision-making. Totalitarian financialization is the internalization of finance as destiny—where even resistance is calculated in terms of return on investment.
Example: “She delayed having children to pay off student debt, worked two jobs to keep her credit score up, and invested in crypto to feel some hope—totalitarian financialization, where life itself becomes an asset class.”
Totalitarian Financialization
An intensification of authoritarian financialization, arguing that finance has become totalitarian: it colonizes every domain of existence, from education (student loans) to health (medical debt) to housing (mortgages). It trains people to think of themselves as portfolios, to optimize their credit scores, and to accept that financial risk is the horizon of all decision-making. Totalitarian financialization is the internalization of finance as destiny—where even resistance is calculated in terms of return on investment.
Example: “She delayed having children to pay off student debt, worked two jobs to keep her credit score up, and invested in crypto to feel some hope—totalitarian financialization, where life itself becomes an asset class.”
Authoritarian Financialization by Abzugal May 2, 2026
Authoritarian Uberization
A critical term for the way Uberization (the gig‑economy model of precarious, algorithm‑managed labor) functions as authoritarian control. Workers are subjected to opaque algorithms, instant deactivation without due process, and surveillance that monitors every movement. There is no appeal, no union, no stability. Authoritarian Uberization replaces the employer‑employee relationship with a system of absolute, unaccountable power that demands total flexibility while offering zero security. It is the authoritarian face of the gig economy.
Example: “A glitch in the app deactivated his account—no income, no explanation, no human to talk to. That’s authoritarian Uberization: rule by algorithm, with no right to reply.”
Totalitarian Uberization
A more extreme version of Authoritarian Uberization, arguing that the gig platform model is totalitarian in its ambition to govern every aspect of workers’ lives. From scheduling to performance feedback, from pay rates to social credit scores, the platform seeks total control. It does this not through overt coercion but through seamless integration: workers voluntarily surrender autonomy because the platform is their only access to work. Totalitarian Uberization is the normalization of absolute employer power hidden behind an app’s friendly interface.
Example: “The app tracked his location off the clock, docked pay for breaks, and even rated his ‘reliability’ based on personal reviews. Totalitarian Uberization: the platform as panopticon.”
Totalitarian Uberization
A more extreme version of Authoritarian Uberization, arguing that the gig platform model is totalitarian in its ambition to govern every aspect of workers’ lives. From scheduling to performance feedback, from pay rates to social credit scores, the platform seeks total control. It does this not through overt coercion but through seamless integration: workers voluntarily surrender autonomy because the platform is their only access to work. Totalitarian Uberization is the normalization of absolute employer power hidden behind an app’s friendly interface.
Example: “The app tracked his location off the clock, docked pay for breaks, and even rated his ‘reliability’ based on personal reviews. Totalitarian Uberization: the platform as panopticon.”
Authoritarian Uberization by Abzugal May 2, 2026
Late-Stage Totalitarianism
A critical extension of late‑stage authoritarianism, arguing that the control exercised by late capitalism is totalitarian in scope: it shapes not only behavior but the pre‑conscious categories through which people experience the world. Media fragmentation, algorithmic echo chambers, and consumer culture produce a population that polices its own dissent and cannot conceive of alternatives. Late‑stage totalitarianism does not need secret police because everyone has internalized the market as natural and any challenge as irrational. It is the totalitarianism of no alternative.
Late-Stage Totalitarianism Example: “People voted against their own interests and called it ‘common sense’—late‑stage totalitarianism, where the system doesn’t need to silence you because you’ve already silenced yourself.”
Late-Stage Totalitarianism by Abzugal May 2, 2026
Late-Stage Authoritarianism
A critical term referring to the authoritarian turn within late‑stage capitalism—when economic crises, inequality, and ecological collapse provoke popular resistance, and capitalist states respond with intensified repression, surveillance, and suspension of democratic norms. Unlike earlier welfare‑state compromises, late‑stage authoritarianism shows capitalism without a human face: mass incarceration, police militarization, anti‑protest laws, and the criminalization of poverty. It is the political form of late‑stage capitalism, where markets remain free while people are increasingly unfree.
Late-Stage Authoritarianism Example: “The new law made it a felony to film police, while corporate tax evasion was decriminalized—late‑stage authoritarianism, protecting capital by criminalizing accountability.”
Late-Stage Authoritarianism by Abzugal May 2, 2026
Neoliberal Totalitarianism
An intensification of neoliberal authoritarianism, arguing that neoliberalism is not merely repressive but totalitarian—seeking to control thought, reshape consciousness, and eliminate alternatives altogether. It operates through media monopolies, education reforms that erase critical thinking, and the reduction of all human values to market metrics. In practice, neoliberal totalitarianism makes it impossible to imagine life outside market relations, pathologizes dissent as irrational, and colonizes every sphere of existence with competition and commodification. Unlike classical totalitarianism with overt terror, it rules through manufactured consent and the elimination of cognitive dissent.
Neoliberal Totalitarianism Example: “Universities now measure success by job placement; every social problem is reframed as a market failure—neoliberal totalitarianism, where even your dreams must have a business plan.”
Neoliberal Totalitarianism by Abzugal May 2, 2026
Neoliberal Authoritarianism
A critical term describing how neoliberalism—often presented as a philosophy of freedom, markets, and limited government—operates in practice as an authoritarian system. It enforces market logic through austerity, deregulation, and privatization, but when policies face democratic resistance, it deploys state violence, legal repression, and institutional coercion. Neoliberal authoritarianism appears in eviction of protest camps, criminalization of dissent, and the use of emergency powers to push through corporate-friendly reforms. It reveals that the “free market” is not free; it requires a strong state to crush opposition and enforce inequality.
Neoliberal Authoritarianism Example: “The government slashed social spending while police cracked down on teachers’ strikes—textbook neoliberal authoritarianism, using state violence to protect market ideology from democratic accountability.”
Neoliberal Authoritarianism by Abzugal May 2, 2026
Priomo
A critical US prison slang acronym for “prison molester”—someone who sexually preys on incarcerated individuals, whether other inmates, guards, or staff. Derived from Brazilian prison terms “Predadores Carcerários” and “Abusadores Carcerários,” it names a hidden population of abusers behind bars. Unlike general labels like “sex offender,” priomo emphasizes the betrayal of trust and the specific violence of prisons, where victims have no escape. The term is used by prisoners to identify and warn others about predators, and by prison reform advocates to demand accountability. It refuses to let the system sanitize or ignore the sexual violence that persists in correctional facilities.