Not an historian here but I am thinking that the rise of the Eastern and Central European republics after the collapse of the Soviet Union but only because the Soviets lost the will and power to try and stop them.
I think generally the only real power autocracies have is the threat of violence to keep the people in line. If the threat doe…
Not an historian here but I am thinking that the rise of the Eastern and Central European republics after the collapse of the Soviet Union but only because the Soviets lost the will and power to try and stop them.
I think generally the only real power autocracies have is the threat of violence to keep the people in line. If the threat doesn't work then violence is used which then leads to the bloody resistance and revolutions.
Can oligarchy be reversed? Some revolutions have empowered tyrants and essentially a new set of oligarchs given power. The French Revolution was violent but then the violence was extended in order to solidify the political "gains" of the revolutionaries and within a short time embracing a new autocratic monarch.
There is a thing called "The Iron Law of Oligarchy" that basically says that every system or organization will eventually be captured by oligarchic forces. I think that may be waht we are seeing in America today.
“[Robert] Michels argues that democratic attempts to hold leadership positions accountable are prone to fail, since with power comes the ability to reward loyalty, the ability to control information about the organization, and the ability to control what procedures the organization follows when making decisions. All of these mechanisms can be used to strongly influence the outcome of any decisions made 'democratically' by members.”
Not an historian here but I am thinking that the rise of the Eastern and Central European republics after the collapse of the Soviet Union but only because the Soviets lost the will and power to try and stop them.
I think generally the only real power autocracies have is the threat of violence to keep the people in line. If the threat doesn't work then violence is used which then leads to the bloody resistance and revolutions.
Can oligarchy be reversed? Some revolutions have empowered tyrants and essentially a new set of oligarchs given power. The French Revolution was violent but then the violence was extended in order to solidify the political "gains" of the revolutionaries and within a short time embracing a new autocratic monarch.
There is a thing called "The Iron Law of Oligarchy" that basically says that every system or organization will eventually be captured by oligarchic forces. I think that may be waht we are seeing in America today.
“[Robert] Michels argues that democratic attempts to hold leadership positions accountable are prone to fail, since with power comes the ability to reward loyalty, the ability to control information about the organization, and the ability to control what procedures the organization follows when making decisions. All of these mechanisms can be used to strongly influence the outcome of any decisions made 'democratically' by members.”
Rings quite familiar with the current situation.
Doesn't it though!