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August 30, 2010
"Preference cascades" Glenn Reynolds in 2002
99% of the populace can hate the regime and be ready to revolt against it -
but no revolt will occur because no one realizes that everyone else feels the same way. This works until something breaks the spell, and the discontented realize that their feelings are widely shared, at which point the collapse of the regime may seem very sudden to outside observers - or even to the citizens themselves. Claims after the fact that many people who seemed like loyal apparatchiks really loathed the regime are often self-serving, of course. But they're also often true: Even if one loathes the regime, few people have the force of will to stage one-man revolutions, and when preferences are sufficiently falsified, each dissident may feel that he or she is the only one, or at least part of a minority too small to make any difference. == TCS: Tech Central Station - Patriotism and Preferences
Posted by Vanderleun at August 30, 2010 7:30 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
I think Beck broke the spell.
Posted by: ahem at August 30, 2010 3:31 PM
Each and every one of us has to break the spell on a local level.
Posted by: monkeyfan at September 1, 2010 7:25 AM