It is a given that most governments would like to remain in power, to maintain their position governing their nation. Modern Political Science beginning with Macheivelli's "The Prince" have studied the concepts of power, government and revolutions for many years. These studies are approached from a completely amoral perspective. These studies have absolutely nothing to do with morality, They focus on the pure science of maintaining or overthrowing governments.
In almost any society there are three main groups in the population.
The first are those who support the existing government. They may do so out of a liking for it's policies or out of personal advantage (if they are a member, have a priviledged position or are receiving some economic gain). No government can afford to alienate these people, they are the governments Power Base. This Power base MUST be maintained at all costs.
The second group is usually the largest. They are the people whose lives are filled with family, or work satisfaction, or with just trying to make a living. Such people have no time or interest in anything else and have no concern for politics. They just want to be left alone, to live their lives the best they can. They are focused on their own needs and desires. The government can consider these people to be a very small threat.
The third group consists of those who are opposed to the regime. For whatever reason, they are unhappy and the overthrow of the regime would be acceptable to them. To remain in power the government must activly discourage these people from acting on their feelings. Generally the way to do this is with the power of law. The power to imprison or banish for treason; and the power to stamp out demonstrations of resistance. Demonstrations against policies can be tolerated allowing people to let off steam. Whenever a demonstration is held against the government itself; it must be crushed. It must be crushed with sufficient brutality to make people think twice about the next time.
To remain in power, all governments must please their supporters and try very hard not to alienate or drive any supporters away from the regime. Governments must do all in their power to keep the neutral masses; neutral. Governments must make the price of rebellion so high that very few from the third antagonistic group will take the risk of open rebellion.
Governments have the power to imprison, to execute, or even to torture; to keep populations in line. However, if some become so deeply offended that the rewards are worth the risk; they will rebel. The danger point for governments is when the dedicated rebels begin to approach about 1/3 of the population. At that point they will outnumber the government's supporters, considering that more than 1/3 of the population will be neutral. In this situation the government is at risk and it must use all of it's power and wisdom to change the situation in order to save itself.
A classic example of the above is the American Revolution from the British. In that conflict approximately 1/3 of the Americans were still quite loyal to Britain, 1/3 were for the rebellion and about 1/3 didn't really care. The tipping point was the cost of putting down such a rebellion so far from Britain and the realization that the rebels would not give up. Washington lost battle after battle and still kept reorganizing and fighting on. Like the Vietnamese in the 20th century they just wore out a distant adversary.
The real key to the maintenance of power has been understood from the days of the Tower of Babel. The real key to power is religion. A believer might risk death or imprisonment to rebel against a hated ruler, but he would never risk losing eternity. If he can be made to believe in eternal torment, so much the better. Such believers will accept any wrong and endure anything to save their eternal lives. The key to REAL POWER is always religion. This is why the rulers of nations have always been the heads of their religions, or they are pronounced as God's choice by the existing religious leaders. The Emperor of Japan, the King of Siam, the Queen of Britain are only a few examples. The Holy Roman Emperors were crowned by Popes, rebellion against them was considered rebellion against God.
In modern time the ancient Greek fallicy of evolution was resurrected by Darwin. yet religion, especially in times of stress is an incredibly powerful institution. Historically, most of these rulers did not believe in religion. they USED the religious beliefs of the people to keep them subservient. The same is true today.
In the Anglo Saxon world, or should I say in most of the world today, many millions pay lip service to religion and then go and do whatever they want. This is the decadance of the West, that the Islamists decry. Today in the West, religion is mainly a claim that becuse our family was Catholic or some other, that we are also that religion, even though we do not really practice it.
It does seem that wealth is the enemy of religion. When we are poor or in crisis we turn to our concept of God. When we are well off and things are going well we tend to forget Him. The sin of Sodom was Pride, Wealth and Idleness & Pride Ezek 16:49-50.
In Iran today 60% or more of the population is under 30. Inexperienced in the trials of their fathers. Filled with youthfull strength and enthusiasm. Much better off than their fathers. Exposed to the decadant and very tempting lifestyles of foreigners through modern media. Supported by foreigners who want change in their country. The only thing preventing regime change right now is the military power of the Revolutionary Guard. The regime controls the RG through the power of religion. The RG are the fanatical true believers in the Theocracy and gain considerable personal advantage from this support. It is very ulikely that the RG can be turned away from the state. Today the regime in Iran is in great danger. If the RG were removed from the picture; which could be done in mere days with a mass bombing campaign; the young masses of people would rise up and the present regime would be a brief footnote in history.
Where do democracies fit into the political science of maintaining governments? The answer is that democratic institutions rarely change, only the people who occupy offices change. In some ways the brains of people work like computers. People must have quality INPUT (information) to come to quality decisions. Democracies are controlled by those who control INFORMATION and HIGH FINANCE. No one can run for office without the backing of HIGH FINANCE and no one can get votes without Media coverage.
Politicians must go, hat in hand; for loans and support to the Military, Industrial, Financial establishment. When they win the election, they are expected to toe the line on major policies. The more the faces change, the more the policies remain the same. There may be some cosmetic changes to appease the masses, but the foundational policies remain the same. When the politicians leave office, they are given lucretive sometimes powerful jobs in the establishment; IF they have been wise (supported the Establishment) in their policy decisions. The real rulers of democracies are quite different people than those who hold office. from President on down they are just servants of the Establishment. Politics: Poly, meaning “many”, and tics, meaning “bloodsucking parasites”. May we be servants, willing to lay our lives down and not masters of the people, fleecing the flock. Servants who are by the people,of the people and FOR the people. Especially those of the household of the faith !But most IMPORTANTLY servants of Yahuwahshua. That would then makes us not POLY but ONE and not TICKS but HIS BRIDE, the life giving government of the Lamb. And He is IS the only One who can reconcile justice and mercy.
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