And the benefits derived from that. When the consequence for the elites of losing the fight for political power is being targeted personally, imprisoned, or eve

And the benefits derived from that. When the consequence for the elites of losing the fight for political power is being targeted personally, imprisoned, or even killed, it makes them cling to power using much more brutal and violent means to avoid this fate, which means more repression for the average folk as well - no dissent can be tolerated. In a modern liberal democracy, they know that they can lose an election cycle without losing their head. This is why things are so concerning in US - we've already lost this benefit, even though the elections are still genuinely free for now. I don't think they will remain so for long now that the stakes for their losers are so high.