#376 - How Democracies Fail
Making Sense with Sam Harris - Subscriber Content
Ideas Are Contagious: Autocracies Fear Liberalism
Ideas surrounding individual rights, transparency, and accountability are powerful and contagious, posing a significant threat to authoritarian regimes. Autocracies, like Russia, maintain the façade of democracy to adhere to global norms, suggesting that they are aware of the influence of liberal ideals even when tightly controlling their societies. History echoes this tension; figures like Mussolini and Orwell highlight how totalitarian regimes actively combat the spread of democratic concepts, fearing that exposure to liberalism could inspire dissent. The engagement of these regimes with the world, despite heavy suppression, illustrates their concern that external ideologies can infiltrate and destabilize their control.
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