What is an autocracy in simple terms? An autocracy is a government where one person or group exercises control over many parts of society. It often involves force, or at least the threat of force. How are totalitarianism and authoritarianism related? Two main things relate totalitarianism and au...
The exact difference between communism and socialism has long been debated. Even Karl Marx used the terms interchangeably. Marx viewed socialism as the first step in the transition from capitalism to communism. Today, communism is often identified with socialism. However, while they share several cha...
Yes, they conceded, the past was marked by authoritarianism, “a strong hand in this volatile region”. The people in their country were grateful for that “stability”, and now they expected their new leader to take them “into the 21st century”. None of this panned out in the years ...
The enclosure movement was but one part of a wide-reaching process of state intervention in creating capitalism. Moreover, it is just one way of creating the"land monopoly"which ensured the creation of a working class. The circumstances facing the ruling class in the Americas were distinctly di...
While both autocracy and authoritarianism are characterized by having single dominant rulers who may use force and the repression of individual rights to maintain power, an autocracy may demand less control over the people’s lives and be less likely to abuse its power. As a result, truly author...
Small pattern: over time, more and more Harris/Walz signs showed up in yards, moving from inside the house to the outside where they belong. Big picture: the voice of opposition grows stronger, louder, more vibrant, when tyrants attempt to repress it. That, too, is an American tradition...
If his life and career teach us anything, it is how quickly democracy can be prised from its hinges when political institutions fail and civilizing forces in society are too weak to combat the lure of authoritarianism; how thin the mantle separating civilization and barbarism actually is; and ...
12. Authority defiance disorder. Who likes to be told what to do? (From the research on authoritarianism and compliance, quite a lot of people, actually). Are we starting to get silly? 13. Task avoidance disorder. Now I fear I am guilty of pathologising normal behaviour. Who doesn’t ...
For reasons of prestige and through an excess of authoritarianism, the Central Committee refused this course." [The Serge-Trotsky Papers, p. 164] Trotsky, it should be noted, in 1937 proclaimed that the "anarchist and Menshevik elements . . . did their best to lead things to an uprising....
political authority.”Anarchists are not against authorities in the sense of experts who are particularly knowledgeable, skilful, or wise, though obviously such authorities should have no power to force others to follow their recommendations. In a nutshell, then, anarchism is anti-authoritarianism. ...