FEAR OF GOVERNMENT

SHOULD OUR PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY TOWARD GOVERNMENT INCLUDE

an element of fear ? To a generation brought up in the last thirty years, during hi!h many ha"e been trained to loo# to
go"ernment for all material blessings, the $uestion may sound strange%
&Are e not identi!al ith the go"ernment?& they ill as#% &'n a !ountry demo!rati!ally run, here the e(e!uti"e and
lama#ers are !hosen by the people, hat danger !an there be in go"ernment?&
)hat is too often forgotten is that the best of ele!ted e(e!uti"es and lagi"ers are, li#e the rest of us, fallible human
beings and sub*e!t to normal human temptations and errors% The orst may be potential auto!rats and di!tators%
The demo!rati! pro!ess is, unfortunately, in itself no se!ure guarantee against the emergen!e of authoritarianism%
+oth Mussollini and ,itler !ame to poer through a su!!ession of !onstitutional and demo!rati! pro!esses and
measures% 'n many of the !ountries that no find themsel"es behind the 'ron -urtain the same methods ere
employed% The -.e!h -ommunists, li#e the 'talian fas!ists and the German Na.is before them, began by polling a
si.able "ote hi!h as, hoe"er, far short of a ma*ority% +y !ombining ith ea#/minded parties of the 0right or left0,
they formed in ea!h instan!e a !oalition hi!h as able to gain !ontrol of the go"ernment% Then !ame the gradual
&purifi!ation,& hereby the former politi!al allies ere absorbed or !aste asise, until the re"olutionary minority held
absolute poer%
'n to/party !ountries su!h as the 1nited 2tates, it ould not e"en be ne!essary for a party to go through the
!oalition stage% +y ielding effe!ti"e !ontrol o"er the e(e!uti"e, legislati"e and *udi!ial bran!hes of the go"ernment,
it !ould, as the result of a thoroughly demo!rati! pro!ess, depri"e the !iti.ens of their liberties%