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Originally Posted by Halcyon
blanket statements are always a danger. That being said, it is hard to deny the effect of fear on a populace.
In the doc "Manufacturing Consent" there is an awesome discussion about how leaders always do what they want.
But in a democracy, they don't have the luxery of acting at will (like a dictatorship, monarchy, etc.). Instead they have to maufacture consent.
It has calmed slightly, but our leaders were so good at this that questioning the path towards war in Iraq (with untold financial rewards for many close to those leading) was considered mild treason. Fear works.
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i agree... sometimes governments have to manufacture consent. people are smart. groups of people are stupid. europe didn't want to consent to challenging hitler on his military build up... even though it was obvious where it was going.
had someone taken the opportunity to "manufacture the consent" of the citizens of the weary nations who had already fought a horrible war, there might not have been a second world war. hitler was busy manufacturing consent right and left. burning of the reichstag, attacking jews, political house cleanings where "treason" was found etc. the world is an imperfect place, complicated with impossible situations where choosing the least worse solution is often better than doing nothing.