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> tests of loyalty A quick side-observation: The real purpose of forced loyalty oaths are not to create trust, but to destroy it. The fascist saying "pledge l
by Terr_ 2y ago
> tests of loyalty
A quick side-observation: The real purpose of forced loyalty oaths are not to create trust, but to destroy it.
The fascist saying "pledge loyalty or be fired/jailed" knows that an affirmative response doesn't mean anything, but that's not a primary goal.
Instead, they're forcing the remaining people to scar their own reputations in a way that makes it harder for them to self-organize. It seeds a doubt: "Even if this guy didn't really mean it, it still means they were willing to lie when their job/freedom was threatened. They say they're on my side, but... have they threatened again, and are they lying to me now?"
- andy_ppp 2y agoSo you’re saying these tests won’t also mean people are purged?
- Terr_ 2y agoOh, people who say "I'll never join the dark side" will get fired/imprisoned, of course. My point is that those very-visible outcomes aren't necessarily the most-impactful result of the policy.
- trilbyglens 2y agoSimilar to how corruption has basically become the political system in Russia. If you refuse to participate in the corrupt system than the government has no leverage over you and you will be kept out of power by all means. They only want corrupted people because a corrupt person has levers that they can be controlled by. Honest people who are only led by their ideology cannot be controlled.