2 ms·
If a government severely punishes debate about its behavior or views it wants accepted and unchallenged, or has a system in place to eliminate information in th
by Nevermark 5y ago
If a government severely punishes debate about its behavior or views it wants accepted and unchallenged, or has a system in place to eliminate information in the public sphere that it does not want you to encounter, through technology and overwhelming pressure on organizations and individuals, ...
... that's all you need to know. That is a situation designed precisely to stay in power despite not responding to a freely informed public's preferences.
If an autocratic leader actually asked its citizens for their preferences on whether the autocrat should stay in power, and abided by the result - it would not be an autocracy.
- tshaddox 5y agoWe’re talking about the form of government though, not specific acts of censorship about specific government actions. Those are definitely bad! But I don’t think there are secrets about the form of government of, say, China, and how it is similar and different than, say, the United States.