If history is any guide, the establishment of totalitarianism has so far required: A) A government in possession of excessive repressive measures. B) A genera

If history is any guide, the establishment of totalitarianism has so far required: A) A government in possession of excessive repressive measures. B) A general state of popular anxiety. C) A highly symbolic crisis. Historical examples include the infamous Reichstag fire in Nazi Germany [1], as well as the lesser known attempt on Lenin's life in Soviet Russia [2] and the duke of Brunswick's capture of Verdun in Revolutionary France [3]. Each of these crises enabled the respective governments to implement extraordinary measures that violently suppressed civil liberties and political opposition. Thus I have little doubt that we've escaped a close call after 9/11. A follow-up attack, even of moderate proportions, may have enabled an honest-to-God police state by now. Judging by politicians' reactions to the Boston bombing, that danger is by no means behind us. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire#Political_consequences http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire#Political_conseq... [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Terror#History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Terror#History [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_Massacres#Reports_of_massacres http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_Massacres#Reports_of_...