Why Do So Many People Love Authoritarian Leaders?
The West is Trending Right
Once upon a time, when I was in Spain for the winter months, something strange happened to me.
This took place about ten years ago. I’ve been wintering in Spain for 17 years. At the time, I considered the above small white village in the mountains my home away from home. Since then, I’ve moved down to the coast. This time, however, I was staying at the only hotel in the village. A beautiful place with killer views down to the Mediterranean Sea and the seaside village where I now keep an apartment.
On a clear day, I could see the etchings of Morocco.
The gentleman who owned the hotel was a friendly man who also provided taxi services to individuals arriving at the Malaga airport. His daughter managed the desk. They had a great little restaurant in the hotel as well. Technically, I had everything I needed in one spot.
I enjoyed the hospitality of this family-run hotel for several weeks.
Visitors came and went. At one point, there was a group of Brits staying there. They spent their days hiking in the mountains. That was a common pastime as the village was a good starting point for a day of hiking.
Everything was pretty idyllic.
I felt like I’d stepped back into the past. There was almost a storybook element about the village. I also had many friends that lived there. Only one American, but lots of Brits and a few Germans as well as Scottish gave the village an international flare. One morning over the complimentary breakfast, the owner addressed everyone in the restaurant. He extended an invitation to visit his personal collection of Franco memorabilia.
You could have heard a pin drop.
Everyone seemed rather taken aback but speechless. He waved us on encouragingly. In a jovial mood, he led us down the street to a small building under lock and key. Upon entering the building, which consisted of two rooms, we found ourselves examining photos, guns, flags, old newspaper stories, and group portraits of Franco and other members of his regime.
It was clear to everyone that this man wasn’t just a preserver of history but an admirer of Franco.
The group was stunned. We all kept sneaking glances at one another’s faces in order to verify an equal amount of shared shock. The owner never seemed to notice. He was exuberant.
This collection was the pride of his life.
Later that day, I found myself discussing the matter with a good friend in the village. They informed me that there were other Spaniards who still loved and missed Franco.
What made it even more surreal is that Franco’s authoritarian regime isn’t ancient history.
Anyone alive in Spain at the time, either lived under his rule or had close relatives who had done so. Spain had received its independence only 40-some-odd years before this unexpected experience. The violence, bloodshed, poverty, and suffering from the Franco era should have been pretty fresh in everyone’s memories.
But they didn’t all remember it the same way.
It’s equally difficult for me to grasp that the far right is gaining ground once again in Spain. They aren’t the ruling party by any stretch of the imagination, but the Vox party is now the 3rd most popular party in Spain’s national parliament.
How can this be?
How do people so quickly forget? Even if it’s not a complete return to an authoritarian government, how can anyone be so easily convinced to give up any of their hard-won freedoms? Some say that this kind of political nostalgia is currently trending all across the Western world.
But here’s my burning question.
What makes people who are deeply dissatisfied with the status quo long for a tougher more right-wing approach to governing?
What happens in our brains to trick us into supporting this kind of radical right populist movement? Spain isn’t the only one with far-right parties seeking positions of power. America is flirting with authoritarian leaders, tough guys who tell it like it is and approach governing from the point of view of harsh laws and deep divisiveness. Sweden, Italy, France, Portugal, and Hungary all have their far-right parties stirring the pot and gaining ground.
What do humans find so appealing about that?
I want to know. Because although it’s not everyone, there’s a large enough number to be counted, a big enough group to have influence, and they always end up doing whatever needs to be done to take over. Hasn’t history taught us by now that given enough time, these leaders are eventually and often violently overthrown? Why must humans go from one extreme to another?
What’s the matter with our big brains? Inquiring minds want to know. I want to know.
Teresa Roberts is a retired educator, author, world traveler, and professional myth buster. You can find her books on Amazon.
