4 ms·

There are some pretty big and critical differences you're glossing over. - The forcing of ideals in Yugoslavia was done 'top-down', by people with power, not

There are some pretty big and critical differences you're glossing over. - The forcing of ideals in Yugoslavia was done 'top-down', by people with power, not bottoms-up. - Citizens have no authority over others. - The United States is a democracy, with separation of political powers. I hope you understand that this makes the comparison to Yugoslavia nonsensical.

padastra 6y ago
Do you think Mao just forcibly hoisted the Cultural Revolution on the populace, or did he just take advantage of a sentiment that was sweeping the times? Or a softer version: do you think McCarthy in the U.S. was potentially dangerous, or will our democracy inherently protect us against being too extreme for all time?
refurb 6y ago
Citizens have no authority over others. Didnt a bunch of woke high school students get a decades long NY Times writer fired recently?
inglor_cz 6y ago
One of the problems with your argument, legacyln, is, that few things can really be done 'top-down'. Even tyrants rely on a subset of dedicated collaborators down there who are absolutely willing to spy and terrorize their neighbours either for a small material gain or out of ideological zealotry. The experience of the world behind the Iron Curtain says that you must really be wary of whom you trust. The greatest force helping tyrants stay and grow is an unassuming balding man next door who collects all your shortcomings and informs on you regularly. Without a million people like him, every oppressive apparatus would be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work needed to control an entire nation. Whatever happens on Twitter each day really resembles the struggle sessions and witch hunts of yesteryear. At the end of the day, authoritarianism is carried on by will of a certain subset of the people, not just by authorities.

4 ms·

There are some pretty big and critical differences you're glossing over. - The forcing of ideals in Yugoslavia was done 'top-down', by people with power, not

by legacynl 6y ago

padastra 6y ago
Do you think Mao just forcibly hoisted the Cultural Revolution on the populace, or did he just take advantage of a sentiment that was sweeping the times? Or a softer version: do you think McCarthy in the U.S. was potentially dangerous, or will our democracy inherently protect us against being too extreme for all time?
refurb 6y ago
Citizens have no authority over others. Didnt a bunch of woke high school students get a decades long NY Times writer fired recently?
inglor_cz 6y ago
One of the problems with your argument, legacyln, is, that few things can really be done 'top-down'. Even tyrants rely on a subset of dedicated collaborators down there who are absolutely willing to spy and terrorize their neighbours either for a small material gain or out of ideological zealotry. The experience of the world behind the Iron Curtain says that you must really be wary of whom you trust. The greatest force helping tyrants stay and grow is an unassuming balding man next door who collects all your shortcomings and informs on you regularly. Without a million people like him, every oppressive apparatus would be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work needed to control an entire nation. Whatever happens on Twitter each day really resembles the struggle sessions and witch hunts of yesteryear. At the end of the day, authoritarianism is carried on by will of a certain subset of the people, not just by authorities.