History never repeats

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."

Guess who said this?

I'm reading a book at the moment written by Prof. Gustave Gilbert who was the prison psychologist during the Nuremberg Trials called "The psychology of Dictatorship". It is his report on the psychology and motivations of the those who were on trial. It is truely an amazing read and I'm only in chapter one!

For example, Gilbert discusses the effect of introducing a democracy after a revolution against a monarchy, dictatorship or any other authoritarian regime that has been firmly in place for a substantial period of time. Whenever this has happen in history it is inevitable that only after a few years later the people want and indeed bring back an authoritarian government. There is a cultural lag as people struggle to adjust to a new system and they find it very difficult to do so. Hence they return to what they know. It takes a generation or two before the society can catch up with the new idea.
Take Russia for example. Putin is elected by the people yet he shows the signs of an authoritarian ruler. He has rolled back democratic reforms. He has clamped down on civil and press liberties and he has ended the direct popular election of regional governors, choosing to appoint them instead. Can you think of a country which was under a dictator and has just had democracy thrust upon it? You don't have to be a genius to work out what is going to happen there in the next few years.
History is there for us to learn from it. What one learns depends on ones motivation. I am sure that there are many who have learnt from the above quote. I just wonder what their motivation is?