We're dealing with two questions here, of course. The first is to ask whether or not authoritarianism is inevitable. It seems, at least to me, that political incentives are aligned in such a way as to promote the government to violate established civil liberties gradually and, at first, quite agreeable. Examples include measures against extremism ranging from strict immigration controls, minor curbs on free speech and extrajudicial murder.

I've no doubt that the conservative nature of bureaucracy, which is positive in its own right, is a contributory factor to the executive and the administration wanting to "cut corners" and perform actions which might not be legal in the pursuit of their aims. For instance, the GCHQ of Britain and the NSA of America collaborated when it came to data-collection and mass surveillance to bypass national laws which would otherwise prohibit such actions. The thing, of course, is that these incremental moves towards authoritarianism aren't malicious. The NSA and the GCHQ are, largely, just trying to fulfill their role as intelligence agencies.

So, in this way, is authoritarianism inevitable?

Secondly, are these curbs of civil liberties and the violations of our rights justifiable? I find myself reading books like Brave New World and, emotionally, wondering what's wrong with it. It seems that most arguments against authoritarian/totalitarian governments stem largely from emotion/intuition, so maybe it's just me when that doesn't seem to click. But on an intellectual level, could a government like that of Brave New World, or the Hunger Games, or even 1984 ever be justifiable?

No and especially no.

Who is someone else to say what's better for me?  Who is someone else to tell me what I can and cannot do?

Quote from: BrenMan 94 on November 29, 2014, 04:10:09 PM

No and especially no.

Who is someone else to say what's better for me?  Who is someone else to tell me what I can and cannot do?

What if you exist under a regime in which you believe it is the best option for you, through ignorance and propaganda?

Is that not qualitatively better, for you?

If it is not actually the best option, then no.

My hope is that as we collectively become better educated and as communication becomes faster and cheaper, we will move towards a system of government which will be better held accountable.

It's always inevitable

It's only "justifiable" if the populace has been subjected to it for a length of time, take North Korea as a perfect example; they see their own leader as some godly ruler and don't question him or his judgement/will. America and many places can see that it's not justifiable because every human has a defined set of natural rights

Quote from: Kinder on December 01, 2014, 08:26:47 AM

It's always inevitable

It's only "justifiable" if the populace has been subjected to it for a length of time, take North Korea as a perfect example; they see their own leader as some godly ruler and don't question him or his judgement/will. America and many places can see that it's not justifiable because every human has a defined set of natural rights

I guess it's inevitable a government will start gaining power but I see it as more of a climax, the government builds up to that point then collapses.

The government, well U.S anyway, does have the power. All it needs to do is declared martial law, repeal habeas corpus, and repeal posse comitatus