Authoritarian mass attitudes can elect dictators or embolden illegal power grabs.

Evidence

Right-wing authoritarianism has thus been defined as an orientation, rather than as the terrible acts it greases the skis for, but it is still dangerous. The mood of a populace can create a climate of public opinion that promotes totalitarian movements. It can intimidate politicians, journalists, and religious leaders who might otherwise oppose repression. It can elect a dictator into office, as it did most notably in Germany in 1933. It can encourage a bold, illegal grab for power, as it did in Italy in 1922, and has violently done in so many other places since. And once the power is grabbed, who will resist? Who will love democracy enough to face the tank in Tiananmen Square, versus those who will cheer for the dictator? That is an individual difference. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 126

Categorization

• XREF: Germany 1933 and Italy 1922 elections connect to the broader political-science literature on democratic breakdown. — connects to: Class power structures reproduce the infantile situation, making submission to rulers appear rational. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 221