“I wonder if Ceaușescu saw it coming?”
Actually, Ceaușescu was shocked that he wasn’t loved and adored by the unwashed masses. Dissent had been so effectively squashed that he was unaware of what people really thought. And that is the problem with squashing public (and private) displays of people’s real opinions.
I’m not sure what Ceaușescu could have done differently if he’d known. The problem with glasnost is it lets the genie out of the bottle and there’s no putting it back. This is why Xi has clamped down far harder and more effectively than Ceaușescu ever could have. I’m guessing however that in Xi’s case it will make the end, when it comes, far more spectacular. For example, instead of using a rifle whoever kills Xi may use an artillery piece, a jet bomber or even a nuke.
P
Fled to Switzerland and set up house in a walled compound?!
Thanks for the comments. In particular, I was commenting on byedone. It still amazes me a person can be so ‘in the dark’ to be surprised by the consequence of their arrogance. They’ve had a lifetime of violating basic human decency that they have no awareness for the push and pull of human relations.