Fear is the Tool of Authoritarians
Democracy is a positive word. Everyone likes “democracy”. It has a good feel to it. It polls well. Whatever their practices, leaders of many different persuasions -- even those who foster insurrection -- call what they do “democracy”.
“The United States has American-style democracy, and China has Chinese-style democracy,” according to Chinese Premier Xi. “The differences should be “recognized and respected”.
We see the results of the Chinese-style in the way Hong Kong has changed since the Chinese government took over in 1997. What was once a city of free-wheeling debate and political action has slowly been squeezed into conformity.
Hong Kong still has the outward structures of democracy. There are elections. People vote. There is a legislative body that makes decisions and passes laws. But something new is in the air. Fear. What differentiates democracy from authoritarianism.
Not fear of the other side winning and adopting laws and policies one doesn’t like. That is part of the democratic process. But personal fear. Fear for my person. Fear that if I do not conform, if I do not agree, if I speak out against authority, I will be punished in some way. I will be threatened and attacked. I will lose my job. I will be charged with subversion. Sent to prison.
Fear brings self-censorship. Conformity is achieved. The essential foundation of democracy, a vigorous open contest of ideas, visions, and policies for organizing ourselves in community, gets chipped away piece by piece.
So how to judge who defends democracy and who at heart is authoritarian? I would suggest two standards.
The first. Judge, not by what they accuse others of doing and wanting to do, but on what they say about themselves, their own values, how they see the world, and what they will do when they have the power.
The second. Do they value the freedom to disagree – without which democracy doesn’t exist?
On those two criteria, Trump and the people he has surrounded himself with are no defenders of democracy. The authoritarian inclinations of Trump and his followers are clear. Other Republican leaders, with few exceptions, have not resisted.
What Trump himself has said:
Commenting on the Chinese putdown of student protesters in Tiananmen Square: “They were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength.”
About a free press: “I say up front, openly, and proudly, that when I WIN the Presidency of the United States, they and others of the LameStream Media will be thoroughly scrutinized … NBC NEWS, and in particular MSNBC, should be investigated for its Country Threatening Treason.”
About his political opponents: “Vermin” that need to “be rooted out”.
About Mark Milley, then Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: “ … in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH.”
About his losing the 2020 election: “ … allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”
What Trump’s supporters and close associates have said:
Steven Cheung, Trump campaign spokesman, on liberals: Their “sad, miserable existence will be crushed when President Trump returns to the White House.”
Kash Patel, former chief of staff to the acting secretary of defense under Trump: “We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media … we’re going to come after you. Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out.”
Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation: The country is “in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA., on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol: “… if Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won … not to mention, it would have been armed.”
Greg Gutfeld, Fox News host, on political opponents and elections: “You need to make war to bring peace … you have to force them to surrender … elections don’t work. We know that. We know they don’t work.”
Donald Trump Junior: “I just want to make sure those snakes and the liars don’t get those positions of power,”
Gavin Wax, president of the New York Young Republican’s Club: “We want total war.”
Steve Bannon, former White House Chief Strategist in the Trump administration: “We’re not looking to compromise … There’s nothing to talk about …Remember, in war, take the moral high ground, totally and completely destroy your opponent.”
Threats against those who disagree have escalated as followers of Trump, with his unspoken blessing, have taken it upon themselves to root out the “vermin” and “snakes”. Fear is the weapon used to produce the silence of acquiescence. There is a consistent pattern to the stories.
Yoel Roth, former head of trust and safety at Twitter: “Backed by fans on social media, Mr. Trump publicly attacked me … Elon Musk added fuel to the fire. I’ve lived with armed guards outside my home and have had to upend my family, go into hiding for months and repeatedly move … what happened to me wasn’t an accident … It was a strategy — one that affects not just targeted individuals like me, but all of us.”
David French, attorney and writer on politics and religion: “I was a senior writer for National Review at the time, and when I wrote pieces critical of Trump … they attacked us through our daughter. They pulled pictures of her from social media and photoshopped her into gas chambers and lynchings. Trolls found my wife’s blog on a religious website called Patheos and filled the comments section with gruesome pictures of dead and dying Black victims of crime and war. We also received direct threats.”
Michelle Jarrett, library media supervisor for the School District of Osceola County: “Librarians across the state are already self-censoring for fear of retribution, and asking themselves, ‘Am I ready to defend this book, is this worth the fight.’”
Fear is the tool of authoritarians. It strikes at the essence of democracy, the ability to speak and act freely, to criticize the leader, to work for change, without having to think there might be possible personal retribution. Those who use fear to control, and all those who benefit from the forced conformity without pushing back, are no defenders of democracy.
A pre-election version of “Fear is the Tool of Authoritarians” was posted July 21, 2024, on View From A Distance.
I would agree that way too much time is spent on Trump and his ilk and have tried for the most part to stay away from it. I saw a joint interview with Sandel and Picketty last week and thinking about doing a post on " A Philosopher and an Economist Talk Politics." The two of them made some good points connecting economic and cultural change and what might be done to counter the effects.
What I was trying to do with Fear and probably didn't succeed very well is that when we give into fear, we are doing what the Authoritarians want us to do and that is to conform with their wishes without them having to make us. Too many recent stories about political, corporate and other leaders keeping quiet, not saying anything because they don't want to offend T and be subject to retribution. Not too many brave people out there these days.
Doug
I am afraid we are spending too much time focusing on Trump and the distressing things he says and what he is trying to do. We may lose sight of a question which is as, if not more, important. Why did a large portion of our population vote for Trump and his ilk?
A Michael Sandel interview on Youtube entitled "Philosopher Michael Sandel on What Trump’s Win Says About American Society" has a positive, insightful discussion that discussed the question of why people voted for Trump.
He argues that voters didn’t’ feel they had a voice in their government, that the moral fabric of community is unraveling and that people felt unmoored and hungered for a sense of belonging, of pride, of solidarity. Voters felt those with college degrees look down on them, elite condescension. People wanted change and to them Trump represented change. Democrats participated in leaving people behind and didn’t focus on the dignity, the honor of work.
I am afraid we fall into Trump's trap by reacting to issues he defines. Instead we need to create positive change by addressing the attitudes that caused people to elect him.