#despotism — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #despotism, aggregated by home.social.
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A quotation from Hannah Arendt
The chief difference between the despotic and the totalitarian secret police lies in the difference between the “suspect” and the “objective enemy.” The latter is defined by the policy of the government and not by his own desire to overthrow it. He is never an individual whose dangerous thoughts must be provoked or whose past justifies suspicion, but a “carrier of tendences” like the carrier of a disease. Practically speaking, the totalitarian ruler proceeds like a man who persistently insults another man until everybody knows that the latter is his enemy, so that he can, with some plausibility, go and kill him in self-defense.
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Origins of Totalitarianism, Part 3, ch. 12 “Totalitarianism in Power,” sec. 1 (1951)More about this quote: wist.info/arendt-hannah/54483/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #arendt #hannaharendt #aggression #demonization #despotism #enemy #enemyofthestate #insult #ruler #scapegoat #secretpolice #selfdefense #totalitarian
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A quotation from Thomas Jefferson
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Document (1776-07-02), “Declaration of Independence”More about this quote: wist.info/jefferson-thomas/220…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #thomasjefferson #absolutepower #custom #despot #despotism #endurance #government #inertia #overthrow #putupwith #rebellion #revolution #suffering #tyranny #declarationofindependence
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A quotation from Thomas Jefferson
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Document (1776-07-02), “Declaration of Independence”More about this quote: wist.info/jefferson-thomas/220…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #thomasjefferson #absolutepower #custom #despot #despotism #endurance #government #inertia #overthrow #putupwith #rebellion #revolution #suffering #tyranny #declarationofindependence
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This is it everyone! A step too far! It's #NowOrNever!!!
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/01/put-microchips-in-prisoners-to-track-them-tech-bosses/
A bunch of '#tech' bosses proposed a bunch of dastardly ideas to #UK #prisons minister, for implementation by 2050. Here are those:
- Realtime #tracking of #prisoners with #surgical_implants
- Using #AI to predict #crimes!
- #Robot prison guardsHere are the offenders:
- #Google
- #Microsoft
- #Amazon
- #IBM
- #Palantir (of course!)#Despotism #Authoritarianism #Surveillance #TechBros
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This is it everyone! A step too far! It's #NowOrNever!!!
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/01/put-microchips-in-prisoners-to-track-them-tech-bosses/
A bunch of '#tech' bosses proposed a bunch of dastardly ideas to #UK #prisons minister, for implementation by 2050. Here are those:
- Realtime #tracking of #prisoners with #surgical_implants
- Using #AI to predict #crimes!
- #Robot prison guardsHere are the offenders:
- #Google
- #Microsoft
- #Amazon
- #IBM
- #Palantir (of course!)#Despotism #Authoritarianism #Surveillance #TechBros
[1/3]
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A strange thing, when one considers it: to wit, the world applies to Czar and System the same moral axioms that have vogue and acceptance in civilized countries! Because, in civilized countries, it is wrong to remove oppressors otherwise than by process of law, it is held that the same rule applies in Russia, where there is no such thing as law — except for our Family. Laws are merely restraints — they have no other function. In civilized countries they restrain all persons, and restrain them all alike, which is fair and righteous; but in Russia such laws as exist make an exception — our Family. We do as we please; we have done as we pleased for centuries. Our common trade has been crime, our common pastime murder, our common beverage blood — the blood of the nation. Upon our heads lie millions of murders. Yet the pious moralist says it is a crime to assassinate us. We and our uncles are a family of cobras set over a hundred and forty million rabbits, whom we torture and murder and feed upon all our days; yet the moralist urges that to kill us is a crime, not a duty.
Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Story (1905-02-02), “The Czar’s Soliloquy,” North American Review, Vol. 180, No. 580 (1905-03)More about this quote: wist.info/twain-mark/83904/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #marktwain #twain #absolutepower #abovethelaw #assassination #civilization #despotism #greatergood #killing #lawlessness #morality #ruleoflaw #tyranny #violence -
But they touch upon 2 key nerves in the body politic: The tension in a #democracy about how & to whom credit for #public works & programs should be given, & narratives of gratitude particular to #US history, including the gratitude freely offered by #immigrants & #refugees, & the forced gratitude demanded from #enslaved people.
#Trump #narcissism #megalomania #vanity #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing
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But they touch upon 2 key nerves in the body politic: The tension in a #democracy about how & to whom credit for #public works & programs should be given, & narratives of gratitude particular to #US history, including the gratitude freely offered by #immigrants & #refugees, & the forced gratitude demanded from #enslaved people.
#Trump #narcissism #megalomania #vanity #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing
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…Compared with the giant banners of Trump’s glowering image hanging on federal office buildings, including the once-independent #DOJ, & the renaming for #Trump of public #landmarks & #memorials such as the #KennedyCenter for the Performing Arts, these banners are a relatively small #authoritarian incursion into the public realm.
#narcissism #megalomania #vanity #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing
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…Compared with the giant banners of Trump’s glowering image hanging on federal office buildings, including the once-independent #DOJ, & the renaming for #Trump of public #landmarks & #memorials such as the #KennedyCenter for the Performing Arts, these banners are a relatively small #authoritarian incursion into the public realm.
#narcissism #megalomania #vanity #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing
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A spox for the #Interior Dept didn’t respond to questions about how many banners have been hung, whether they are appearing outside of Washington, or how much the new ad campaign is costing.
They are a bitter topic in a city that gave #Trump’s opponent Kamala Harris >90% of the vote in the 2024 election. “I assume this is what North Korea looks like,” one critic wrote on the Globalist website.
#narcissism #vanity #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing
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A spox for the #Interior Dept didn’t respond to questions about how many banners have been hung, whether they are appearing outside of Washington, or how much the new ad campaign is costing.
They are a bitter topic in a city that gave #Trump’s opponent Kamala Harris >90% of the vote in the 2024 election. “I assume this is what North Korea looks like,” one critic wrote on the Globalist website.
#narcissism #vanity #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing
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#Trump demands gratitude in DC. So he put up banners thanking himself.
Signs appearing around the capital twist appreciation & patriotism into an authoritarian knot.#narcissism #megalomania #vanity #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/05/07/signs-thanking-trump-in-washington/ -
#Trump demands gratitude in DC. So he put up banners thanking himself.
Signs appearing around the capital twist appreciation & patriotism into an authoritarian knot.#narcissism #megalomania #vanity #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/05/07/signs-thanking-trump-in-washington/ -
When the savages of Louisiana want some fruit, they cut down the tree at the base and gather the fruit. That is how a despotic government works.
[Quand les sauvages de la Louisiane veulent avoir du fruit, ils coupent l’arbre au pied, & cueillent le fruit. Voilà le gouvernement despotique.]Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher
Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 5, ch. 13 (5.13) (1748) [tr. Stewart (2018)]More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/montesquieu/82151/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #montesquieu #spoils #autocracy #despotism #destruction #devastation #exploitation #inefficiency #pillage #taking #thoughtlessness #tyranny #unsustainability
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When the savages of Louisiana want some fruit, they cut down the tree at the base and gather the fruit. That is how a despotic government works.
[Quand les sauvages de la Louisiane veulent avoir du fruit, ils coupent l’arbre au pied, & cueillent le fruit. Voilà le gouvernement despotique.]Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher
Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 5, ch. 13 (5.13) (1748) [tr. Stewart (2018)]More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/montesquieu/82151/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #montesquieu #spoils #autocracy #despotism #destruction #devastation #exploitation #inefficiency #pillage #taking #thoughtlessness #tyranny #unsustainability
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#Trump admin officials claimed that the officer who shot #ReneeGood had been under attack & was acting in self-defense, & #state investigators have been blocked from accessing #evidence related to the case.
After a 2nd resident was killed — #AlexPretti, a #VeteransAffairs #nurse who was also 37 — #federal officials initially appeared to use the same playbook.
#law #FAFO #federalism #MafiaState #AbuseOfPower #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing
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#Trump admin officials claimed that the officer who shot #ReneeGood had been under attack & was acting in self-defense, & #state investigators have been blocked from accessing #evidence related to the case.
After a 2nd resident was killed — #AlexPretti, a #VeteransAffairs #nurse who was also 37 — #federal officials initially appeared to use the same playbook.
#law #FAFO #federalism #MafiaState #AbuseOfPower #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing
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City Prosecutors Join Forces to Bring Charges Against #FederalAgents
9 progressive #prosecutors from cities around the country are launching a coalition to assist in prosecuting federal law enforcement officers who violate #state #laws, one of the prosecutors, Larry Krasner in Philadelphia, said Tues.
#law #FAFO #federalism #10thAmendment #FederalGovernment #Trump #MafiaState #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/us/prosecutors-charges-against-federal-agents.html?unlocked_article_code=1.H1A.wZbM.U_sYBDJs6yu9&smid=nytcore-ios-share -
City Prosecutors Join Forces to Bring Charges Against #FederalAgents
9 progressive #prosecutors from cities around the country are launching a coalition to assist in prosecuting federal law enforcement officers who violate #state #laws, one of the prosecutors, Larry Krasner in Philadelphia, said Tues.
#law #FAFO #federalism #10thAmendment #FederalGovernment #Trump #MafiaState #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/us/prosecutors-charges-against-federal-agents.html?unlocked_article_code=1.H1A.wZbM.U_sYBDJs6yu9&smid=nytcore-ios-share -
No person is so foolish that they don’t understand that if we remain asleep at this moment we will have to live through a rule that is not only cruel and arrogant but ignoble and disgraceful too. You know this man’s arrogance, his friends, and his whole household. To serve shameful lusts, bullies, disgusting and irreverent thieves, those drunkards — well, that is the worst suffering married to the greatest dishonor.
[Nemo est tam stultus qui non intellegat, si indormierimus huic tempori, non modo crudelem superbamque dominationem nobis sed ignominiosam etiam et flagitiosam ferendam. Nostis insolentiam Antoni, nostis amicos, nostis totam domum. Libidinosis, petulantibus, impuris, impudicis, aleatoribus, ebriis servire, ea summa miseria est summo dedecore coniuncta.]Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Philippics [Philippicae; Antonian Orations], No. 3, ch. 14 / sec. 34-35 (3.14/3.34-35) (44-12-20 BC) [tr. @sentantiq (2021)]Sourcing, notes, other translations: wist.info/cicero-marcus-tulliu…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #cicero #alertness #arrogance #attention #crisis #danger #despotism #dictatorship #disgrace #dishonor #misery #payattention #politics #regime #tyranny #warning #regime