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Stepping back, purges are a bleak aspect of statecraft - and executive management. As a leader, what do you reasonably do about an insurgent movement? Once they
by motohagiography 6y ago
Stepping back, purges are a bleak aspect of statecraft - and executive management. As a leader, what do you reasonably do about an insurgent movement? Once they seize power, they will need to purge you and your supporters, so there is a zero-sum aspect to this.
Develop mature democratic processes? Those will take decades, and imposing them just means Potemkin structures that keep you in power.
- profunctor 6y agoThis doesn't just describe a purge where maybe the leaders of the Communist party are imprisoned by a military dictatorship. This is mass murder of millions. It is never necessary. Do what the king of France did and just abdicate and leave if you have lost power rather than engage in mass murder. Sure if there is a militia planning to attempt to overthrow you then have them arrested but don't kill everyone with views to the left/right.
- modo_mario 6y agoThere's a bit of a stark difference between killing a few generals or public figureheads looking to overthrow one as a dictator, and killing many hundreds of thousands of civilians that don't like you. It's just extra gross that the US helped it happen.