Just a note that mandated mask-wearing, stay-at-home orders and business closures happened in the 1918 Spanish flu in much the same way. The world didn't suddenly became more authoritarian in the last ten years.
That was also part of an iconic period that marked the lull between 2 of the bloodiest wars in human history and the partial collapse of civilisation in Europe, if not for the benevolence of the US in helping it to repair. Presaged one of the worst periods of economic collapse too.
If authoritarianism is on par with the 1920s we are in very bad shape. That was part of the incubation period for the people who ended up shovelling Jews into ovens.
You have a very odd way of framing historical events. The US govt's own website contradicts the claim that assistance with rebuilding Europe was out of "benevolence":
> The necessities of commercial growth dictated continued government support for overseas private investment. That, in turn, drove the United States to further engage with both with Latin America and the rebuilding of Europe in the 1920s.
I'm just saying; we both seem to be pointing out that current policies look a lot like the sort of thing that might have been found in the 1920s. The 1920s turned out to be setting up the 1930s, where people thought it couldn't get worse. Then the 1940s where they were proven wrong.
I don't know why you expect me to relax when you compare the situation to 1918. 1918 was when the seeds were being planted for one of the greatest episodes of suffering that the world has seen to date. The policies set in motion around then and the philosophies in vogue around then were indefensible disasters. The upside of the 1950s->2020s was that people were so shaken by the failures of 1910->1950 that they changed tack. The ones that didn't, in China and the USSR, who doubled down on authoritarianism then turned into their own disasters but at least they focused inwards. The US can consider itself lucky that it only had to deal with the great depression and an acceptable rate of needless war casualties.
> You have a very odd way of framing historical events. The US govt's own website contradicts the claim that assistance with rebuilding Europe was out of "benevolence":
That is nitpicking. Investing huge amounts of money to rebuild a shattered continent is benevolent no matter what the motivations of the US government's website happens to say. People do things for reasons. Sometimes they do things that are benevolent because it benefits them.
The world did absolutely suddenly become more authoritarian in the past ten years (the US, China and Russia all have become more authoritarian and so have many other countries). We're not back to 1940s levels of authoritarianism yet, but if that happens it will be much worse this time around thanks to technical progress.
I can appreciate the argument. The US for example has moved to illegalise abortions and be hostile towards immigrants. And to some extent there was a global move away from authoritarianism in the late 20th C which seems to be stalling.
But you can't forget that the US even in mid/late 20th and early 21st centuries underwent a host of authoritarian changes:
* Prosecuting unjustified (and in some cases unpopular) wars in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq
* Aggressive support of violent coups and regime changes in South America and the Middle East, usually in favour of right-wing authoritarian strongmen
* Illegalising psychoactive substances for medical or recreational use, simultaneous with testing those drugs on unwitting US citizens
* Spying and surveillance against US journalists and activitists
* Political suppression and even persecution of left-wing ideas
* Increasing militarisation of police and use of violent means such as tear gas or rubber bullets to control protests
