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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: cosmicforce who wrote (103090)	2/4/2009 1:21:56 PM
From: Dale Baker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 544125

I'd have to disagree - that on average regimes that espouse harsh views like that last for 100's if not 1000's of years. Well, let's take a look at the countries with governing systems that have lasted. None has made it 1000 years without fundamental transformation. We can look back and see various empires that lasted a few centuries, mostly before democracy began to spread anywhere. Great Britain probably has the longest pedigree as a nation-state, albeit only moving to democracy a few centuries ago. Various other authoritarian or totalitarian regimes in Europe folded one by one, with Russia losing both its monarchy and then its communist system. The Byzantine, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires were all swept away by major world change. Ditto Germany under the Kaisers and then Hitler. Today's remaining totalitarians are mostly bits and pieces left over from the post-WW2 era, some of which have loosened their grip over time. China is the biggest and strongest among them, but as we know, it's a funny mix of political restrictions and some economic liberty. The rest - Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, Burma, Zimbabwe, are mostly backward sideshows on the world stage. The last 400-500 years, creating a dictatorial regime was not a lasting career path for many.