In the book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017), historian and Andrew Carnegie Fellow Timothy Snyder suggests a score of ways of fighting tyranny, and defending democracy with individual actions. I learned about this on November 18 while attending a book review at the Albany Public Library by Mark Lowery, who retired from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in the past year.
Here’s a seven-minute summary. Check out the SparkNotes. Below are the 20, which are explained by Snyder himself here.
- Do not obey in advance.
- Defend institutions.
- Beware the one-party state.
- Take responsibility for the face of the world.
- Remember professional ethics.
- .Be wary of paramilitaries.
- Be reflective if you must be armed.
- Stand out. Someone has to.
- Be kind to our language.
- Believe in truth.
- Investigate.
- Make eye contact and small talk.
- Practice corporeal politics.
- Establish a private life.
- Contribute to good causes.
- Learn from peers in other countries.
- Listen for dangerous words.
- Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.
- Be a patriot.
- Be as courageous as you can.
Maybe not 2017, but 2025 for sure
You would think that the book was written in 2025. Alas, no. I was interested in the reviews cited by Wikipedia.
“Carlos Lozada of The Washington Post describes the book as ‘clarifying and unnerving,’ ‘a memorable work that is grounded in history yet imbued with the fierce urgency of what now.’
“Daniel W. Drezner, writing for The New York Times, says, ‘For such a small book, Snyder invests On Tyranny with considerable heft,’ but he also describes it as ‘overwrought’ and tending toward hyperbole.” In 2017, perhaps the narrative seemed overly dramatic; not anymore.
“Tim Adams of The Guardian describes the work as ‘a ‘how to’ guide for resisting tyranny,’ concluding, ‘You will read no more relevant field guide to that wisdom than this book.’
“Richard Evans, also in The Guardian, writes that ‘Snyder provokes us to think again about major issues of our time, as well as significant elements of the past, but he seems to have rushed it out rather too quickly.'” This is arguably true, given the short time between writing (November 2016) and publication (February 2017).
The first ones
From the SparkNotes: The first two lessons, “Do not obey in advance” and “Defend institutions,” use examples from the rise of the Nazi Party before World War II. The Nazis were able to destabilize Germany’s existing system of government and laws so that they could create a fascist dictatorship.
Snyder: “Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given.” See ABC, CBS, several colleges, and law firms, et al. “In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked.” See the collusion between the techbros and the federal government.
Sparknotes: “The third lesson, ‘Beware the one-party state,’ describes how several different European nations went from electoral democracies to dictatorships. The people in each country were probably unaware that they were voting for the last time. While most of the new regimes did not last, the lapses into dictatorship might have been avoided if citizens had heeded the warning signs. “
Snyder: “The parties that remade states and suppressed rivals were not omnipotent from the start. They exploited a historic moment to make political life impossible for their opponents. So support the multiparty system and defend the rules of democratic elections.”
You should take in all of these descriptions and apply as many as possible. Read Frank S. Robinson’s take on the same book review.
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