Anyone citing "the trains run on time" as an *upside* of authoritarianism. Although the phrase came from Fascist propaganda, it's had a longer life in political science as a metaphor for tradeoffs between efficiency/security and freedom. Very few of the references I've seen over the years were actually talking about Mussolini's Italy, rather than this derived concept.
Anyone citing "the trains run on time" as an *upside* of authoritarianism. Although the phrase came from Fascist propaganda, it's had a longer life in political science as a metaphor for tradeoffs between efficiency/security and freedom. Very few of the references I've seen over the years were actually talking about Mussolini's Italy, rather than this derived concept.
Indeed, many phrases are usually borrowed or molded into a different scenario as time goes on.
Still think it’s very important we flag the root of it, as without the historical context we lose some of the nuance.
This particular one: trading one’s freedoms for “efficiency”, or the perception of it in this case, and security, is a core tenet of authoritarianism and something that deeply worries me. By making it “just a saying/reference” we devalue the awful stuff that was associated with it.
Anyone citing "the trains run on time" as an *upside* of authoritarianism. Although the phrase came from Fascist propaganda, it's had a longer life in political science as a metaphor for tradeoffs between efficiency/security and freedom. Very few of the references I've seen over the years were actually talking about Mussolini's Italy, rather than this derived concept.
Indeed, many phrases are usually borrowed or molded into a different scenario as time goes on.
Still think it’s very important we flag the root of it, as without the historical context we lose some of the nuance.
This particular one: trading one’s freedoms for “efficiency”, or the perception of it in this case, and security, is a core tenet of authoritarianism and something that deeply worries me. By making it “just a saying/reference” we devalue the awful stuff that was associated with it.