formally democratic, but functionally repressive. Freedom is fragile and must be defended constantly. In a totalitarian dictatorship, the state controls every aspect of life: media, education, religion, and even your private life. There is only one ideology, and fear, violence, and indoctrination are used as instruments. In a full-fledged democracy, however, elections are organized in a decent way, you have an independent judiciary, freedom of the press, civil liberties, and a separation of powers. Dictatorships come in many forms, both far-right and far-left. Fascism and communism have both done a lot of damage to humanity. Do you think it is permissible to compare both? What differences and similarities do you see between the different types of dictatorships, and what nuances do you think we should understand? Both far-right and far-left dictatorships are authoritarian and use repression. Leaders are seen as godlike figures and the population is brainwashed by propaganda through education and media.In that sense, you can compare both with each other and see parallels. The differences between the two are in ideology. Fascism is nationalistic and racist. It glorifies war, statement, but putting it into practice seems to be very difficult. At what point does someone become intolerant, and what is the right way to respond to this? With complete tolerance you indeed undermine tolerance in the long run, so it is necessary that you as a society are intolerant towards intolerance. I think that you can really speak of intolerance when people systematically and actively advocate the abolition of democracy, undermine human rights and do not grant certain population groups the right to exist. Take social media for example, where messages regularly appear in which minorities, such as Muslims, Jews or LGBTQ+ people, are dehumanized. Very often, such messages spread calls for violence, under the guise of ‘freedom of speech’. As a society, you have to respond to this, by, among other things, fact-checking, debate and education. In extreme cases, the courts must act to protect the rule of law. Freedom of speech is not a free pass for calling for violence or discrimination. Appropriate responses to this must be proportionate, legally substantiated and democratic. That is a difficult balancing act, because a government or social media platform must be careful not to ban every dissenting or critical voice under the guise of ‘intolerance’. Dictatorships come in many forms, both farright and far-left. Fascism and communism have both done a lot of damage to humanity discipline and the nation state. Communism in its Stalinist or Maoist form is based on class struggle, anticapitalism and the ideal of a classless society.That ideal rarely remained intact in reality. They also differ economically: fascist regimes often allow private property, but under heavy state control: corporatism. Communist regimes nationalize the means of production and try to abolish private property. Socially, fascism focuses on ethnicity, race and national unity, while communism focuses on class, economic equality and international solidarity. It is important to realize that there is a danger in all forms of totalitarianism, regardless of their ideological color. The extreme right and the extreme left can both lead to inhuman conditions. One of the great thinkers on dictatorship and democracy is the Austrian Karl Popper, author of the book ‘The Open Society and its Enemies’. Popper is best known for his ‘paradox of tolerance’: in order to remain tolerant, a society must be intolerant of intolerance. Instinctively, many people agree with this - 5 - Every dictatorship needs a certain amount of support from the population. Usually a dictatorship has a lot of support at the start, but can survive with the support of a minority if it manages security services and crucial jobs well. On ‘Dictator’ you deal with the themes of repression (‘Chains of Silence’, ‘Penal Colony’) and propaganda (‘Propaganda Parade’). How do you think a minority manages to keep a majority in check? A minority can indeed keep a majority in check by brutal repression, but especially by a clever combination of power techniques. Fear is essential in this, but is reinforced by division among the population, control over information and media, and through deliberately making people dependent economically. Repression does not have to be massive: if it is selective and visible, it is often enough to silence the rest of the population. What makes these strategies effective, is that they not only break physical resistance, but also undermine thinking, trust and the sense of togetherness. This creates a situation in which people adapt, remain silent. or even coperate, even though they form the majority. www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be
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