Abstract
The case of China shows us that, even though a large, well-educated middle-class is emerging—and becoming scientifically oriented and open to democracy—the existence of a vast poor in a population of a billion people allows the totalitarian regime to recruit a huge army and police force to support the despotic acts of the “regime.” Iran’s Persian Guard is likewise recruited from the poor and working-class to support the theocratic despotism of the Ayatollahs. Venezuela’s military is similarly recruited.
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Notes
- 1.
Ibn Sina (Avicenna), advanced the study of Mathematics during the Arabic Golden Age (1000–1300 CE).
- 2.
Zoroastrianism: God and the Devil, Heaven and Hell.
- 3.
The Persian Magi priests were the “wise men” in the Christian story of the Birth of Christ.
- 4.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, Google for English Translations.
- 5.
Tibet has a Buddhist Theocracy (now Chinese dominated).
- 6.
The Bible, book of Ezra, The Jewish Theocracy after Babylonian Exile, Oxford Study Bible, Oxford Press, London, 1980.
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Glassman, R.M. (2021). The Poor, The Military, and Tyranny. In: Can Democracy Survive in the 21st Century?. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76821-8_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76821-8_14
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