Freedom Or Slavery, There's No Third Way

30.06.2025, 14:35 charter97.org

Freedom Or Slavery, There's No Third WayLeonid Nevzlin 30.06.2025, 12:22 6,752 Leonid NevzlinA Democrat's Manifesto.Author's PrefaceIn this text, I do not speak as an expert. I speak as someone who grew up with a belief in freedom - and sees it melting away.I belong to a generation that remembered when walls crumbled, dictatorships fell, and it seemed that humanity had finally escaped barbarism. But today I see it: we're coming back. Not to the same form, but to the same essence - to fear, to the cult of power, to false stability.This text is an attempt to call things by their proper names. Because while we remain silent, others create a new language of lies, in which war is called a "special operation" and dictatorship is called "vertical consolidation."I believe that freedom does not die on its own - it is either defended or lost. And to defend it, we need not only words, but also examples. So far, no modern dictators have fallen. So far, no nation has shown that it is capable of a definitive "no". Which means the rest of us will remain silent, watching the "success" of Putin, Khamenei, Erdogan and others.Let this text be a reminder that the future depends on courage - not statistics."Those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to relive it again."George Santayana"The eternal struggle between freedom and power is the history of humanity."Albert Camus"Until a tyrant is overthrown, he becomes the norm."Anonymous, 21st CenturyIntroduction: Dead Ideas RevivedIt would seem that we are past that. The victory over fascism, the collapse of the Soviet empire, the end of the Yugoslav slaughter. The world of the 1990s was built on the belief in liberal democracy, in the triumph of human rights and global peace.But today, things are different. Democracy is fragile. Human rights are in doubt. Borders are back on the front line.The "ghosts" are returning to the world: the charismatic leader, the cult of power, xenophobia, the collectivist utopia. They put on new clothes: digital propaganda instead of newspapers, algorithms instead of slogans, cryptocurrencies instead of gold reserves. But the essence is the same: the individual is nothing, the system is everything.And the worst part is that these ideas are working again. They give simple answers to complex questions. They turn fear into strength and weakness into righteous anger.Authoritarianism 2.0: Digital DictatorshipModern dictators do not replicate Stalin or Hitler. They surpass them. They have what tyrants of the past could only dream of - complete control over information and the ability to penetrate every home, every pocket, every mind.Digital panopticon. Cameras recognize faces. Algorithms analyze behavior. Social media becomes a dossier on every citizen. In China, it's called a "social credit system." In Russia, it's called the "sovereign Internet." Everywhere - the same essence: your private life no longer exists.Surgical terror. Why mass purges when show trials are enough? Navalny, Magnitsky, Nemtsov - these names are enough to keep millions of others silent. Fear has become pinpointed, and therefore more effective.War is like a drug. The militarization of consciousness turns aggression into the internal cement of power. "We fight, so we are alive. We are winning, so we are right." War justifies any cruelty inside the country.The myth of the strong arm. Fatigue with chaos, with uncertainty, with the complexity of the world makes autocracy attractive. "Let someone else decide. Let there be order." Democracy requires effort. Dictatorship promises peace.The Three Ghosts of the 20th CenturyNationalism, fascism, Marxism - these ideologies seemed to be forever in the history books. But they are back because they respond to the fears and frustrations of our time.Nationalism offers a simple identity in a world of blurred boundaries. When globalization erases differences between countries and cultures, nationalism shouts: "You are special! You are part of a great nation!". It is a drug for those who have lost themselves in a faceless world.Fascism promises strength and order to those who are tired of weakness and chaos. The cult of the leader, the aesthetics of violence, and the mythology of superiority all resonate with people who feel humiliated and forgotten. Fascism turns victim into executioner and weakness into aggression.Marxism provides an explanation for inequality and promises justice. When the gulf between rich and poor grows, when elites live in a parallel world, the Marxist rhetoric of class struggle sounds convincing again.Each of these ideologies is a trap. They offer simple solutions to complex problems. And that is their main strength in a world that is tired of complexity.The Empire of Imitation: When Dictators Become the ModelThe most dangerous thing about the modern world is not the existence of dictatorships. The most dangerous thing is that they have become successful. Putin has ruled for a quarter century. Khamenei for more than three decades. Erdogan has turned Turkey from a democracy into an autocracy before the eyes of the world.And the worst thing is that even democratically elected leaders are copying their methods.Putin has shown how to turn elections into a spectacle while maintaining a semblance of legitimacy. How to use war to mobilize society. How to turn corruption into a system of loyalty.Khamenei demonstrates the power of religious mobilization and the ability to suppress protests for decades.Erdogan has seized the courts, subjugated the media, and turned a coup attempt into an excuse for sweeps.Orban invented the term "illiberal democracy," an oxymoron that has become a model for others.Netanyahu tried to destroy the judicial system and showed how to use war to hold on to power.Trump undermined faith in the integrity of elections and created a cult of personality in the world's oldest democracy.Even Zelensky, the hero of the resistance, is gradually narrowing the political field and concentrating power in his hands.As long as none of today's dictators is overthrown, their methods will spread like a virus. Success breeds imitation.Corruption: The Acid of Democracy, the Cement of DictatorshipThere is one topic that neither democrats nor dictators like to talk about - corruption. But it becomes a key factor in the struggle between freedom and tyranny.In democracies, corruption is acid. It corrodes trust in institutions. When people see politicians stealing, judges selling out, and officials serving not the people but their own pockets - faith in democracy dies. "All thieves" is not just a populist slogan, it is a judgment on the system.In dictatorships, corruption is the cement. It binds the elites in a circular vouchsafety. When everyone has stolen, everyone is dependent on the regime. Corruption creates an army of accomplices who will defend the system, because its fall means their own demise.Putin's system is not based on fear - it is based on the fact that millions of officials, judges, law enforcers, and businessmen have gotten their share. They are not just afraid of the regime - they are part of it.Democracies lose not because they are weak. They are losing because they have not learned to fight corruption as effectively as dictatorships have learned to use it.Why democracies are giving upDemocracies have forgotten the main thing: freedom is not a state, it is a process. It is not something that can be obtained once and for all. It is something that must be won every day.Bureaucratization of freedom. Democracy has become a set of procedures instead of live participation. Elections every few years, endless approvals, committees that decide for everyone. People feel like observers rather than participants.Algorithms of division. Social media promised to unite the world, but created echo chambers. Algorithms show people what they want to see, not what they need to know. Society is breaking up into tribes that can't hear each other.Elites without empathy. The ruling classes in democracies live in a parallel world. They don't understand what it means to lose a job, to not get medical care, to fear for the safety of children. Their decisions are made in isolation from the reality of millions.Poverty of meaning. Democracy has stopped offering big ideas. It has become a technical process of governance rather than a source of inspiration. People want to believe in something more than GDP and interest rates.Fear of conflict. Democracies are afraid to call things by their proper names. They seek compromise where principle is needed. They are tolerant of intolerance. They try to negotiate with those who want to destroy them.What to do? A Manifesto of ResistanceWe cannot afford pessimism. History is not finished. The future is not predetermined. But to change it, we need not beautiful words, but concrete actions.1. Rethink democracy as a skillDemocracy is not something politicians do for us. It is something we do ourselves every day. Participating in local government, controlling power, protecting the rights of others, fighting corruption - these are all skills to be learned and practiced.2. Calling dictators dictatorsStop using euphemisms. Putin is not an "authoritarian leader" but a dictator. Lukashenko is not a "president" but a usurper. Khamenei is not a "spiritual leader" but a tyrant. Language shapes thinking. If we speak the truth, we create a basis for action.3. Create examples of the fall of regimesNo modern dictator has been overthrown - so the rest feel unpunished. We need at least one example that tyranny can be defeated. This will change the psychology of power and resistance around the world.4. Turn fear into fuelFear is a natural response to a threat. But it can be used as energy for action. To be afraid and do nothing is a guaranteed loser. To be afraid and act means a chance to win.5. Create alternatives to corruptionDemocracies must learn to fight corruption as systematically as dictatorships use it. Trans