Interesting. The point is taken! Certainly, Western liberal democracies have a tendency to overestimate the influence of one or a few agents in non-liberal regimes. Sustained authoritarian states don’t just pop out of nowhere by the whims of one man. There has to be some level of popular buy-in.
Still, it seems obvious to me that North Korea engages in levels of propaganda and, yes, brainwashing that most regimes could never accomplish….
I think Hannah’s point—though I might be wrong—is that we can’t assume that “brainwashed” people will completely passively accept whatever views are beaten into them. There is probably something about the ideology that attracts them or resonates with them. So, to understand *how* so many came to accept the ideology, we have to rationally engage with it and see how it might draw people in.
Of course, you can do that while still completely rejecting the ideology. Just as you can present the (specious) arguments for flat earth without joining the Flat Earth Society.
Interesting. The point is taken! Certainly, Western liberal democracies have a tendency to overestimate the influence of one or a few agents in non-liberal regimes. Sustained authoritarian states don’t just pop out of nowhere by the whims of one man. There has to be some level of popular buy-in.
Still, it seems obvious to me that North Korea engages in levels of propaganda and, yes, brainwashing that most regimes could never accomplish….
I certainly agree!
I think Hannah’s point—though I might be wrong—is that we can’t assume that “brainwashed” people will completely passively accept whatever views are beaten into them. There is probably something about the ideology that attracts them or resonates with them. So, to understand *how* so many came to accept the ideology, we have to rationally engage with it and see how it might draw people in.
Of course, you can do that while still completely rejecting the ideology. Just as you can present the (specious) arguments for flat earth without joining the Flat Earth Society.