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fitzroy95 t1_j5zn9dc wrote

Reply to comment by Flare_22 in Access to modern military technology substantially reduces the probability of democratisation of authoritarian regimes — New details about the spread of 29 ground-breaking military technologies in all independent states from 1820 to 2010, as well as the form of government in these states by marketrent

Its those people with all the firearms who are the ones most likely to be imposing tyranny on the rest of the population.

Indeed, its those carrying firearms in public (esp those open carrying) who are deliberately threatening and intimdating all of those around them. None of them are spreading freedom, they are solely spreading fear, paranoia, intimidation and a threat of murder.

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Flare_22 t1_j609dwa wrote

I was referring to the article which discusses the government's ability to suppress the populace, rather than the individuals within a population spreading any societal negatives.

Interestingly, however, if individuals are allowed to spread fear and paranoia unchecked via carrying arms then I would guess that the government is not effectively tyrannical as they would have put a stop to this.

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Eyeless_Sid t1_j60ivsq wrote

Thats under the presumption that a government is inherently good or that it doesn't benefit the government to sow fear. Fear is profitable when put into campaigns and policy. Authoritarian governments can very well allow certain things to happen or to even provoke certain reactions to distract or instill fear.

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Flare_22 t1_j60u6l7 wrote

I operate under the assumption that the government always wants two things: money and power. There may be individuals within the government that seek to limit this, of course, but as an entity the government always seeks money for the purposes of extending power and control. Very similar to corporations.

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fitzroy95 t1_j60u1vs wrote

fearmongering is an incredibly useful tool to keep the population aligned behind your agenda, or at least more compliant, it is often just another form of propaganda and crowd control.

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