Thursday, September 02, 2004
(12:13 PM) | Adam Kotsko:
The Deep Roots of Authoritarianism
Yesterday I spent a couple hours in a train station, so I had the luxury of reading most of the New York Times. I am now completely up-to-date on international events. Aside from the looming question of why in the hell we don't just hand the Iraqi government over to Sistani and be done with it, what struck me most was a quote in this article about Vicente Fox's limited success in promoting democratic reforms in Mexico:"There are many people in Mexico and in the world that still long for, or feel nostalgia, for authoritarian government,'' he said. Referring to the Aztecs, he said, "Mexico, in particular, that was the culture - the culture of the Tlatoani, the culture of authoritarian acts.''What a strange thing to say.
Breaking with those traditions, Mr. Fox said, "is exactly the cause I lead.''
Interestingly, I recall some accounts of the conquistadores that say that subordinate groups in the Aztec empire welcomed the Spanish as liberators. Regime change, like authoritarianism, is a deeply-rooted tradition. And I mean, say what you will of the failings of the Spanish rulers -- the Aztec rulers were bad guys. They performed human sacrifice on their own people.
