Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site dciem.UUCP Path: utzoo!dciem!mmt From: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) Newsgroups: net.politics.theory Subject: Re: Slippery slope nightmares (Dictator as saviour) Message-ID: <1643@dciem.UUCP> Date: Fri, 19-Jul-85 17:35:43 EDT Article-I.D.: dciem.1643 Posted: Fri Jul 19 17:35:43 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 19-Jul-85 20:07:01 EDT References: <991@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA> <245@ubvax.UUCP> Reply-To: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada Lines: 28 Summary: >>It's never happened (maybe in Switzerland? :-)). Dictatorships are >>established not by politicians following slippery slopes, but rather >>by coups in times of extreme crisis. Dictators come as saviors, >>not as well-meaning limited liberal politicians. The kind of >>dictatorship that mike fears has never happened (although again, >>Switzerland ... [remember the movie "Bread and Chocolate"?] :-)) > >Coups at times of extreme crisis? You mean like the election that Hitler >won? Hitler NEVER won an election, in the sense of getting either more than half the votes or more than half the seats in the Reichstag. The election before he was called on to become Chancellor, his party lost enough seats that the German Jewish population heaved sighs of relief. True, he was called on in a democratic fashion to become Chancellor, but he then executed a coup to declare himself dictator and abolish the consitution. Actually, Hitler is a very good example of the thesis that dictators come to power as a result of a crisis. The Weimar Republic was falling apart at the seams, and there was quite a lot of support for a strong-man leader to replace it. He was seen as a saviour by many Germans. -- Martin Taylor {allegra,linus,ihnp4,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmt {uw-beaver,qucis,watmath}!utcsri!dciem!mmt