<p>Before the lockdowns, I used to think the most dangerous threat to liberty was democracy, that people would eventually vote away their liberty a piece at a time, but to my utter surprise, people surrendered their liberty, virtually all of it, to the pandemic without so much as a whimper; and were seemingly resigned to continue like that indefinitely. It's especially worrisome how few people were willing to speak against the tyranny: apparently, surrendering liberty is easy but defying authoritarianism is difficult; that sanctimonious mocking, scorn & ridicule from the neighbors is an effective deterrent against standing up for your rights.</p>
<p>But perhaps the true cause of our capitulation is indeed democracy because of the nature of the leaders that emerge? A large faction of the political candidates who get elected have authoritarian impulses, needing only the opportunity to unleash them. It's unclear what these demagogues want: is it power? Defeat a president they don’t like? Destroy Capitalism? An entire political party surrendered their liberty without hesitation, doesn't seem to want it back; and wants everybody else to surrender their liberty too, which in fact, we did, almost instantaneously.</p>
