For this reason, elected authoritarians who wish to consolidate control typically win not by flashy displays of might, but by convincing a critical mass of people that they’re just a normal politician — no threat to democracy at all.
That means the survival of democracy depends, to an extent not fully appreciated, on perceptions and narratives. In three recent countries where a democracy survived an incumbent government bent on destroying it — Brazil, South Korea, and Poland — the belief among elites, the public, and the opposition that democracy was at stake played a critical role in motivating pushback.
They don’t care because the goons aren’t grabbing their family members and smashing their cars.
There’s a huge number of people who don’t give a shit about anything beyond the ends of their own noses.
Seems worse than that. I mean I could not care about anything but me and mine and still not want others to suffer or at the very least recognize that this could eventually get to me. I mean there has to be some kind of cruelty or stupidy or mix of both to actually want and support this.