Authoritarianism done well
Nothing is ever done well through purely centralized, top-down mechanisms—not even authoritarianism. Dictators may issue decrees, but the real engine of oppression is bottom-up: the social narratives, moral panics, and righteous enthusiasms generated by the crowd itself. Authoritarianism done “well” becomes totalitarianism, and totalitarianism is never the achievement of a lone tyrant. It is a decentralized moral movement, powered by busybodies who carry the narrative into every street corner, workplace, and living room. The script is written from below, through shared outrage and collective certainty, long before leaders formalize it. In fact, those leaders are usually elevated by the crowd—carried into power on the backs of the nation’s Karens, the volunteer enforcers who believe they are defending goodness. Without their buy-in, authoritarianism is clumsy and limited; with it, it becomes seamless, comprehensive, and self-propelling
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