Authoritarianism

 

Authoritarianism

It is depressing how many regimes in the world are authoritarian to some degree. If we see the correct purpose of government is to administer those areas of society which must be collective such as defence and otherwise to allow the individual the maximum possible choice in life then this the absolute opposite..

I’m not going to discus and analyse such blatantly authoritarian regimes as Russia and China. Particularly in China’s case they glory in suppressing individuality and their state philosophy is extremely dangerous. The governing philosophy in China needs a separate post.

More concerning is the spread of authoritarianism in supposedly free and democratic societies. It is interesting that democracy is touted universally even by societies which don’t seem to have the faintest idea what it means. The really sick example was somewhere like the former East Germany which called itself a “democratic republic” while practicing the antithesis.

Less it should be thought that the problem is exaggerated it is as well to realise that while it is very easy to slip into authoritarianism it is very hard to reverse. In fact there is almost a standard playbook in which an authoritarian regime takes power which is only torn from it by revolution. As examples take Cuba and Venezuela. Their regimes pauperised the country and limited freedom but survived; in the case of Cuba for well over 50 years. Another example is Iran where an irreversible theocracy has become entrenched.

The old idea that military coup’s are the usual method of installing authoritarian regimes as for example in Myanmar is outmoded. The modern day dictator is usually a bit more subtle. After getting power in some way, sometimes by election, subsequent elections are fixed by such methods as closing free press, controlling TV,  sham trials of rivals. A handy way of disguising reality is to invent imaginary hostile opponents and vociferously denounce them while pretending that rigid rule is necessary to defeat these opponents. A common choice of imaginary opponent is America although some regimes are much more subtle. The Hungarian regime demonises George Soros.

Defence against authoritarian rule depends on far more than democracy. It depends on strong and devolved institutions with none more important than the rule of law. One common feature of despotic rule is to manipulate the legal system and use it against opponents. It is appalling that Trump attempted to manipulate the US legal system. Trump appointees can hardly be trusted to be fair and impartial. He has been woefully successful in getting sympathisers onto the Supreme Court. On of the problems with democracy is that the Republican party, one of the two major US political parties, has now a history of gerrymandering, voter suppression and hosting wild conspiracy theories. The Trump election was also heavily influenced by systematic Russian interference. Although this all is problematic it is on the fringe of authoritarianism.

A depressing number of third world countries are falling for authoritarian government. The military coup in Myanmar is an almost classic example of an army takeover. Military takeovers have become less common partly because pre existing governments have become more wary of army power. Generally authoritarian regimes need to have support of the army.

A more common route is for authoritarian governments to gain power by pseudo democratic means and then manipulate the society so that they retain that power. An example is Guatemala.

Before we become too complacent in the UK we have to realise that the Boris Johnson government has shown distinct authoritarian tendencies. Their attempt to prevent parliamentary discussion by closing parliament when it suited was only prevented by legal action. They are showing worrying signs of attempting media control by hobbling the BBC and the deliberate exclusion of anyone who doesn’t agree with a pro Boris agenda is beyond normal practice. Fortunately the UK not only has strong civil institutions but also a group of aggressively libertarian MP’s within the Tory party.

The list of countries which have escaped authoritarian rule is depressingly short. Pakistan has emerged from military dictatorship but is hardly a fully functioning democracy. It is depressing that India has been moving in the opposite direction under the dictatorial Modi government which is fermenting communal discord as a deliberate ploy.

Authoritarian government has downsides quite apart and in addition to suppressing individual liberty. They usually make their citizens poorer, the striking exception is China. They are usually corrupt and despotic rulers all too often are kleptomaniacs. The almost joke example was the Marcos government in the Philippines where Imelda Marcos had many hundreds of shoes. Even in mature democracies all too often political leaders seek to feather their nests.

Counters to authoritarian government include a free press and free journalistic TV, strong non governmental organisations and most of all scrutiny and protest by citizens. The great hope vested in social media has not been shown in practice where misinformation is rife. It was said some long time ago that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. All citizens everywhere need to recognise the proper boundaries of state control and be ready to oppose any attempt to step beyond those boundaries.

This post discusses state authoritarianism; some organizations also actively seek to counter liberty- it is a sad reality that the US Republican Party is such today.