Sociopaths have always been in power. There is not much socially unique about our times. Scales have changed (there are so many people!) but not the principles.

Up until recently, us non-sociopaths used to have a little more recourse, in the US anyway.

The past ten years have changed all that. Very little wiggle room to escape them conventionally anymore. We have to resort to more and more extreme means to be able to find some small escape from them. That's why I no longer use commercial airlines, for instance.