The UK and US have gotten pretty close to autocratic regimes in the past, but have usually settled for impoverishing vast swaths of the working class instead of drifting into revolution.
I think France has had a rockier past and, of course, Germany is in a class by itself. I can't predict what will happen this time, certainly the tools of oppression are much more refined that in prior periods.
The people always have the option of exerting their power by withholding their labor and spending, but it seems to take more political awareness than seems to exist at the moment. Maybe the spreading strikes among fisherman and others will lead the way. Policies not Politics ---- Daily Landscape
When the economy and social structure of a society goes into a decline we usually see one of two outcomes: civil unrest or the imposition of an autocratic regime.
Yep and that is why I think things like Anglo Disease and peak oil are so... passé.
Yes, the analysis was correct, spot on, perfect. In fact is was so correct that we are now entering a period past that. The credit and energy binges are over (or at their end).
The question now is: as the shit is hitting the fan in front of our eyes, how do we answer that?
What will happen in "the west" where scarcity makes a comeback? We do have strong democracies, but we also have atomized, less organized grass roots than before. Furthermore people of my age and below were educated in a sort of self-centered, egotistic fashion ("you are consumers!", not friends, not members of a community, not even producers).
I am afraid that you are right: authoritarianism along with scapegoat finding (foreigners, immigrants, criminals - of the small fish kind) is the "standard" answer. Lots of space for typical ultra-right speech.
How can that be countered? Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness - Bertrand Russell
So I agree with you, it is crucial to start hammering out an alternative narrative as well as reminding people why the old one is wrong. Our problem is that it's easier to diagnose problems than to agree on solutions (the herding cats problem). When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
If you want cats to congregate--offer them food
If you wish cats to do something for you--The cat will wonder why you want it to do something for you--and look at you strangely
If you wish cats to have common behaviours--give them common play spaces and toys
....
heh...herding cats--why would anyone want to herd cats? That's not how cats work, surely? So--new techniques! We have lots of cat owners here, so--given that we are a collective of cats rather than dogs or cows--we need some of that cat-knowledge...
or...er....cough! Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.
