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How To Spot Authoritarianism — and Choose Democracy | Ian Bassin | TED
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How To Spot Authoritarianism — and Choose Democracy | Ian Bassin | TED

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The speaker recounts a significant event where they were tasked with picking up binders containing historical memos from a previous White House lawyer, which became crucial in their work at the White House counsel's office.

Retrieving the Binders

  • The speaker received an urgent message during the 2009 American presidential inauguration to pick up a package in Washington, DC.
  • They retrieved three thick binders with their name on a Post-it note, left by a lawyer from a previous administration.
  • These binders contained memos dating back to the Eisenhower era, guiding White House staff on their duties and restrictions.

New Section

The speaker reflects on the importance of norms and traditions in governance, highlighting concerns post the 2016 American presidential election.

Importance of Norms

  • Rules governing White House staff are often norms rather than legally binding regulations.
  • Concern arose post the 2016 election regarding leaders disregarding established rules and norms.
  • The speaker's group aimed to apply lessons from historical binders to safeguard democracy through Protect Democracy organization.

New Section

Exploring how modern authoritarian movements threaten democracies by subtly dismantling systems from within using consistent strategies.

Authoritarian Playbook

  • Modern authoritarian movements dismantle democracies internally rather than through overt means like military force.
  • These movements follow a playbook involving steps such as politicizing institutions, spreading disinformation, and quashing dissent.

Democracy and Choices

The speaker discusses the importance of choices in democracy, highlighting how individual decisions impact the strength or erosion of democratic systems.

Democracy's Foundation on Choices

  • Choices made by citizens daily either strengthen or weaken democracy.
  • Example of a democracy-saving choice: Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss stood up against false accusations to protect democracy.
  • Despite facing threats and harassment, Ruby and Shaye chose to defend democracy through legal actions.

Historical Lessons on Choices

  • Comparison between center-right parties' choices in Europe during World War I and II highlights the impact on democratic systems.
  • Warning about center-right parties in America making similar choices that could endanger democracy.

Individual Responsibility in Democracy

  • Emphasizes that individual choices collectively determine the fate of democracy.
  • Importance of citizens' behavior towards each other for maintaining a healthy democratic environment.

Acting Towards Democracy

The speaker delves into the significance of citizen behavior in shaping the democratic landscape, emphasizing the role of interactions and attitudes in safeguarding democracy.

Impact of Citizen Behavior

  • How citizens treat each other influences government functioning.
  • Fear-driven behaviors can lead to hostility among citizens, undermining democracy.

Reorienting Perspectives

New Section

In this section, the speaker reflects on historical moments of crisis and conflict in the journey towards a truly inclusive democracy.

Reflecting on Historical Struggles for Democracy

  • The speaker compares the current challenging times to past struggles for democracy.
  • Major advances towards an inclusive democracy have historically been preceded by crises and conflicts.
  • Drawing parallels to brave Black Americans who fought for voting rights in Selma, highlighting the pain endured but emphasizing progress towards a fuller democracy.

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This part delves into the idea of transitioning from an old order to a more democratic future through unity and resilience.

Transitioning Towards True Democracy

  • The speaker views the current period as a transition phase from an old order resisting change to a future embracing true democracy.
  • Emphasizes the importance of opening hearts to each other fundamentally during crises for democracy to flourish.
  • Expresses confidence that genuine democracy will prevail in the USA post-crisis if individuals unite and protect self-government.
Channel: TED
Video description

Democracy is about having choices — and authoritarianism is about not having them, says lawyer and writer Ian Bassin. Detailing the seven steps of the authoritarian playbook, he invites us all to put aside our differences and rethink our role in the fight for freedom, revealing the hope and power behind every choice we make. If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas: https://ted.com/membership Follow TED! X: https://twitter.com/TEDTalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted Facebook: https://facebook.com/TED LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoks The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world's leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit https://TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. Watch more: https://go.ted.com/ianbassin https://youtu.be/T-vVO3nRFzI TED's videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/our-policies-terms/ted-talks-usage-policy. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com #TED #TEDTalks