Irrationality of humans easy to exploit
This question is often asked by historians, and others who take an interest in such things: How did one of the most civilized, cultured nations on earth fall victim to takeover by a ruthless, mass-murdering, dictatorial tyranny? How was the nation that gave the world the music of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart led into a world war that killed many millions of people and left much of Europe in ruins, including Germany itself?
I recall having seen an immediate, post-Second World War film, likely taken by an Allied warplane flying over what was left of Berlin and other German cities, that showed their utter devastation.
Some thoughtful, principled people in Germany before the war in 1933 foresaw the danger the results of the second national election that year posed for the future of their country. Some, including Dietrich Bonhoeffer, predicted it would lead to “the end of Germany.”
The results of the March 6 election left the National Socialist Party and its Fuhrer (leader) Adolf Hitler with 43.9 percent of the popular vote; but as the largest party in the German Reichstag, or parliament, it was able to form a government with Hitler again as Chancellor. He was initially appointed to that position on January 30 by President Paul von Hindenburg after the first election that year.
The next day, Bonhoeffer, a young professor just beginning to make a name for himself as a wise and thoughtful theologian, was coincidentally on the radio speaking in opposition to the “Fuhrer principle.” That was the idea that one man who supposedly knows best should lead a country, in that case Germany.
But anyone who happened to be listening suddenly heard silence. Whether because of technical problems, or deliberate action of the new National Socialist (NAZI) regime, Bonhoffer was silenced, as were many others. The free press, for example, soon ceased to exist as the Nazis and their Fuhrer, soon got dictatorial power with the help of “The Enabling Act,” after the Reichstag conveniently burned.
The rise of dictatorial regimes, such as the trend in that direction the world is now seeing in places like Turkey is, of course, complicated by issues specific to each place it happens. Germany did not have a long tradition of democratic government, unlike the present-day United States, the world’s first liberal democracy. If one counts its birth from the Declaration of Independence, it is 241 years old, and will presumably reach its 250th birthday as a democracy soon after President Donald Trump ends his second term in office. He’s already campaigning for it.
Ancient Rome was a republic with democratic government of sorts for close to 500 years before it officially became an Empire ruled by an all-powerful emperor. Despite the historic fame of the great conqueror, Julius Ceasar, who was assassinated in the Roman Senate in 44 B.C., the first official Emperor was Ceasar’s adopted son, Augustus, in 27 B.C.
As the Roman Empire continued to expand its borders, from as far west as Britain, to as far east as the modern-day Middle East, north into central Europe, and south into North Africa, it enjoyed two centuries of peace, political stability, and prosperity, known as the Pax Romana (Roman peace).
The empire’s borders were protected by military garrisons at critical points to keep “barbarians” out, or if necessary let in under careful and orderly control. A well-constructed and engineered system of Roman roads, allowed Roman armies, with many Legions, to move relatively quickly throughout the Empire.
The Romans were nothing if not orderly, determined to survive, and supremely confident in their right to rule. It was bred into the Roman character, a response to the early challenges and adversities the small, upstart city on the Tiber experienced in its early history: hence, the founding myth of Rome, two orphaned infants, Romulus and Remus, adopted and suckled by a wolf.
There’s something else in that image that speaks to a dark side of the Roman character; and, more to the point here, the dark side of human nature.
No offence to animals, but the Romans knew humans were irrational beings. The iconic, central building of the great city itself was the Colosseum, where thousands, perhaps millions died to appease the blood-lust of the Roman masses and keep them entertained and distracted. Every city in the empire had its Colosseum facsimile.
Nowadays we don’t go that far of course. Modern Western civilization is seemingly more civilized. Yet, our entertainment media -highly graphic movies and computer “games” -- leave nothing to the imagination.
Modern “contact” sports, like hockey and football, rarely kill on the ice or the field, but we now know the physical and mental health-damage done by repeated concussions, for example.
The much-viewed image of the current world’s greatest hockey player, Canadian superstar Sidney Crosby, laid out on the ice with yet another concussion is shocking because it pulls aside the curtain to reveal the terrible reality.
Civilization is like that, though more like a thin, fragile veneer easily broken when the orderly processes that built and maintained it fall into the wrong hands.
Setting aside the violent aspect of certain modern sports for a moment, is there anything more tribal and irrational than fandom, and the emotional joy or angst that comes with it? Been there, done that.
So, getting back to my original question: if you’re an unscrupulous, political demagogue who somehow instinctively understands the existential truth that humans are irrational beings, and if you’re willing to exploit that to gain absolute power, it’s really not that hard to do.