> Authoritarians gonna make up their own authority regardless.

I think they’ll try to, but not always succeed. They will definitely use and abuse any existing powers.

So I think it’s logically unsound, and quite sad to me, to argue that it’s pointless to resist allowing powers that can be exploited because authoritarians will do it anyway.

> They will definitely use and abuse any existing powers.

They'll also abuse new powers, particularly known-but-unused powers.

My point is that it's better to make the best rules you can for now, rather than limit yourself simply because a bad guy will someday make it worse. They'll make it worse regardless.

I really appreciate your points on this. I've come to believe it's impossible to create an incorruptible system. People have choice and can change anything. The harder you fight it, the more subtly it happens.

The best system is one that continually generates a numbered and capable enough cohort unified in a common enough purpose to shepherd it long enough to create yet another generation of shepherds.

> They'll also abuse new powers, particularly known-but-unused powers.

Sounds recently familiar. I watched my state, city, ward, public health office and everyone in between or associated to “discover” new powers as a result of Covid.

My state did not do comparatively well over 2020. All we had to do we what was logical and we could have made these decisions early.

They discovered old powers, really.

The Spanish flu was a thing way back when