• Ephera@lemmy.ml
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    9 hours ago

    Both of you could’ve simply named the political system that you think is magically immune to being overthrown, while somehow not being authoritarianism itself.

    • QinShiHuangsShlong@lemmy.ml
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      7 hours ago

      2 things quickly:

      Authoritarian is a meaningless pejorative. All states/countries/political groups etc. must be authoritarian by necessity in class society.

      This meme isn’t about states being overthrow this meme is about how socialdemocrats entire ideology is built upon “reforming” capitalism by implementing a welfare state to more evenly spread the profits of the super exploitation of the periphery. When those profits dry up so too does the welfare state which inevitably pushes them right or left to deal with the heightened contradictions. The meme is pointing out the unfortunate pattern of it almost always ending in a rightward shift (due to many factors).

      • Ephera@lemmy.ml
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        6 minutes ago

        Wikipedia seems to do a decent enough job defining it:

        Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and the rule of law.

        But basically, my point is:

        • If your government represents the people, then it is possible for your people to elect authoritarianism, especially if they are unhappy, like the meme describes, and/or when there’s foreign nations trying to destabilize the system.
        • If your government does not represent the people, then it is likely to devolve into authoritarianism on its own, because individuals or individual groups will want to assume all power and limit the rights of others.

        Basically, my opinion is that politics is a constant work in progress, no matter the political system.