Five ways to tell if you’re an authoritarian

The greatest threat to liberty comes from instincts we all share.

On the very first page of his seminal treatise On Liberty (1859), John Stuart Mill addresses the ‘struggle between Liberty and Authority’. This simple phrase encapsulates the essence of our present-day culture war, the ‘woke’ movement merely representing the latest manifestation of the authoritarian mindset.

I have been at pains to argue in my articles and books that authoritarianism is the default in human nature. How many societies globally and historically have ever really been free? Even in the rare examples where freedom of speech is enshrined in law, there have always been caveats or exceptions to the principle. The UK is ostensibly a free country, but we have hate speech laws that outlaw certain points of view. No society has ever consistently lived up to wholly liberal principles, and all western political parties are, at present, authoritarian to some degree.

I have always believed that we are better off acknowledging this authoritarian instinct that we share so that we might continually resist it. Creating the conditions for genuine liberty is exceptionally difficult. It requires the gradual development of a civilisation that can uphold it. It requires tradition and inherited knowledge and a sophisticated educational system that can guarantee effective socialisation. More than anything, it requires individual self-awareness and a desire to correct course once we succumb to that universal authoritarian impulse.

With that in mind, here’s my list of five ways to tell if you’re an authoritarian…

— To continue reading this article, please consider becoming a paid subscriber —