Meanwhile, 44 percent backed the American tradition of competing branches of government as a model, if sometimes ā€œfrustrating,ā€ system.

Why would people want to live under an authoritarianā€™s thumb? Itā€™s rooted, experts say, in a psychological need for securityā€”real or perceivedā€”and a desire for conformity, a goal that becomes even more acute as the country undergoes dramatic demographic and social changes. People also like to obey a strong leader who will protect the groupā€”especially if it is the ā€œrightā€ group whose interests will be protected. Recall the Trump supporter who, during the 2019 government shutdown, complained, ā€œHeā€™s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.ā€

    • @thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works
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      7ā€¢2 months ago

      I mean, I imagine if someone like Bernie Sanders became Dictator for Life; the quality of life for 99.999% of Americans would improve; so purely in a thought-experiment kind of way, it works.

      The issue with even the most benelovent dictatorships is the matter of succession.

      • NĪ¹Ę™Ę™Ī¹DĪ¹É±Ņ½Ź‚
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        13ā€¢2 months ago

        Yup, that is the exact problem of benevolent dictatorships. No matter how good it is in the short term, the long term will always end in disaster at some point or another.

    • @jj4211@lemmy.world
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      3ā€¢2 months ago

      Braindead, or supremely selfish and would love a regime that enforces their unpopular desires over the democratic choice?

      • NĪ¹Ę™Ę™Ī¹DĪ¹É±Ņ½Ź‚
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        1ā€¢2 months ago

        Which is still braindead. What happens when their perfect leader can no longer serve? Even if a dictator 100% aligns with you, youā€™re a fool to support them.