So, he reasoned, if you can identify the sources of a government's power - people working in civil service, police and judges, even the army - then you know what a dictatorship depends on for its existence.
Interpretation
A dictatorship relies on the control of key institutions and individuals that uphold its power.
In this quote, Gene Sharp emphasizes the importance of understanding the foundational elements that sustain a dictatorship. By identifying the sources of a government's power—such as civil servants, law enforcement, judges, and the military—one can discern the vulnerabilities and dependencies of authoritarian regimes, which can be crucial for dismantling oppressive systems.
In practice
In a political debate discussing the traits of authoritarian regimes.
The fall of one regime does not bring in a utopia. Rather, it opens the way for hard work and long efforts to build more just social, economic,and political relationships and the eradication of other forms of injustices and oppression.
I want to be important. By being different. And these girls are all the same.
America rejects bigotry. We reject every act of hatred against people of Arab background or Muslim faith America values and welcomes peaceful people of all faiths - Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and many others. Every faith is practiced and protected here, because we are one country. Every immigrant can be fully and equally American because we're one country. Race and color should not divide us, because America is one country.
We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.
Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge.
The days hardened with cold and boredom like last year's loaves of bread. One began to cut them with blunt knives without appetite, with a lazy indifference.
I believe that any man who takes the liberty of another into his keeping is bound to become a tyrant, and that any man who yields up his liberty, in however slight the measure, is bound to become a slave.
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