Word: authoritarianism
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Nevertheless, he painted his first masterpiece in 1869-70, a portrait of his fellow painter from Aix, Achille Emperaire, with his dwarf's body and weak mantis limbs, enthroned--there is no other word for its weirdly authoritarian effect--in a high-backed chair upholstered in floral chintz. Painted darkly in homage to Manet and preceded by some of the most beautiful head studies in Cezanne's early work, it depicts the stunted Emperaire as a parody king, an "emperor," but with compassion; no mere caricatural impulse could account for the averted gaze and the great, sad, liquid eyes...
...Russians continually point out, America has been in the business of electing Presidents for more than 200 years, while Russians have had less than a decade to learn the trade. The excuse has also often been made that authoritarian rule is more suited to a nation as large as Russia, where a loosening of centralized controls could result in anarchy. Anyone who has ever witnessed reform-minded political groups engaged in endless debates about what kind of slogans to use on their campaign posters would certainly come away convinced of the truth of that argument...
...important post, in June. If they manage it, they intend to do communism right this time. They plan to reconstruct and revive the monster of the Soviet Union as a communist state. They would reimpose price controls and central economic planning, renationalize key industries and, probably, turn back toward authoritarian rule. If they pull it off, they would inflict immense damage on Russia and its relations with the rest of the world...
These potentials should not be removed, but tolerated. A move to ban all elements of fire in student dorm rooms would rightly be considered authoritarian. We deal with many dangers each day because they allow for a better end. For example, despite the high rate of automobile accidents, many of us choose to drive cars for their speed and convenience. On the other hand, one could argue that we don't permit absolute freedom. For instance, we require automobile drivers to obey speed limits. We control for excess danger to society while permitting the maximum freedom to the individual...
...real sin in Beijing's eyes may have been to give the lie to the common assertion of Asia's authoritarian regimes that East Asian cultures and de-mocracy do not mix. The element of Lee's platform that most disturbed the mainland was the powerful campaign slogan telling voters, "You're the boss." Says an Asian diplomat in Beijing: "Mainlanders are bound to ask, 'If the Taiwanese could directly elect their leaders, why can't we?'" This fear of democratic contagion comes at a difficult time for the Chinese leadership. While the Taiwanese people elected their President directly, China...