Thread by @Doc_0

Of course "deplatforming works." Fascism works. Totalitarianism works. Terrorism works. That's why people keep embracing such ideologies, even though our culture nominally considers them to be among the greatest of human evils.

In short, FORCE works. Persuasion is difficult, frustrating, and often ineffective. Introducing any amount of force to a system founded on principles of liberty, self-government, individual choice, and private ownership of capital will inevitably tip the scales.

The generation that holds most of our political, corporate, and media power was taught all their lives that fascism is the ultimate evil - but they sank very easily into a fascist system. Today they quiver with glee at using combined state/corporate power to crush dissent.

Developing and using coercive power has a powerful allure. People who think they have great wisdom and absolute moral stature, who view themselves as messiahs on a mission with time running out, will never settle for force-free systems that require the consent of the governed.

"Democracy" is always a train they ride until they reach their ideological destination, and then they hop off and dynamite the train behind them. They think a free republic whose citizens can say "no" will never get important things done quickly enough. Only coercion "works."

Of course, all of these people will howl with outrage if force is used against THEM. It's not exactly hypocrisy - they think they have an exclusive right to employ compulsive tactics against the people. Every political actor that uses force believes they have a monopoly on it.

Remember back in the day when we always said we'd never negotiate with terrorists or make even small compromises with their demands? This attitude implicitly recognizes that terrorism is inherently effective. Reward it, even a little, and you'll get more of it.

Totalitarianism, the politicization of everything, is incredibly effective. It gives tiny political elites a method of imposing their ideology, morality, religion, and policies upon vast populations. Totalitarianism atomizes opposition by making dissidents feel isolated.

Fascism? That crap works GREAT. It fuses totalitarianism and authoritarianism, fuses the State with corporations. Fascism uses private capital to extend the power of the ruling Party BEYOND the authority of the government it controls, creating inescapable rigid conformity.

Fascism is evil and tends to be destroyed by the conflicts it creates to sustain the power of the ruling Party, but that process can take a long time. Fascism doesn't fail because it's ineffective. It would have no allure if it was weak.

We passed through an unfortunate period after the fall of the Soviet Union where we thought all the great evils - fascism, communism, totalitarianism - were self-evidently repulsive and foolish, so nobody would ever touch the stuff again. The End of History had arrived!

We were so naive to think that freedom could ever win a final victory. It's a never-ending battle. Liberty underestimated its adversaries. The Cold Warriors thought their children would avoid repeating the horrors of the 20th Century. We paid dearly for that mistake. /end