The Left's "Slippery Slope" Theory

You know, looking over the DU boards, there are some reasonable arguments being made.
But for the most part... it's a buch of crazy, fever swap rhetoric with no basis in fact.

I suppose this is the left's version of "Slipper Slope" ... but there is little basis in concrete facts to back them up. 





Moving Towards Martial Law: Greater Oppression & Less Liberty in a Militarized, Hierarchical Society

This image is based on a World War I recruiting poster, asking men to join the ranks of troops marching off to war in Europe.
Image © Austin Cline



The imposition of martial law on a free society is one of the ultimate expressions of violent, authoritarian dominance of a few elites over the masses. Rarely does it appear out of the blue, however. It is instead the conclusion of a long list of abuses of liberty in which the people are cowed, dissent is suppressed, and the heavy hand of the law is abused to intimidate anyone who challenges or threatens the authority of those in charge.



Martial law is thus a culmination of many smaller steps taken by a government. Had people sufficiently opposed those smaller steps, they might have staved off the imposition of martial law. Because the government makes those smaller steps seem like reasonable responses to various crises, though, people tend to accept them; when martial law finally comes, they often accept that as the logical conclusion of all that came before.



Too few recognize the dangers early on; even fewer are willing to take a step back and consider that all their previous decisions to accept restrictions on their liberty may have been in error. Once people integrate an increasingly authoritarian system into their lives and outlook, it can be difficult to separate from it. This makes it all the more imperative to prevent matters from reaching this ultimate conclusion.

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