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Comment by raidicy | Hacker News Reader

I am very inexperienced and uneducated in matters like these. Is what this post is describing a real possibility?

There have been may instances of politicians using a crisis or event to usher in sociatal transformation. Two that come to mind are Kristallnacht and the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. There is no doubt a contingent of government (on both sides) that would like to use a reset as a catalyst for a fundamental change to the social contract of the US. The question is, are they large enough and organized enough to pull it off. I would certainly expect those not enamored with the constitution to see how far they can bend it, in times like these, at the very least.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Au...

Kristallnacht is an odd example, considering it was (openly) organised by the government.

The canonical example from that time would be the Reichstag Fire[0].

But in an effort to avoid Godwin's wrath, it might be advisable to find examples a bit lower on <whatever scale such things are measured on> (Millihitler?). 9/11 and all the anti-terror legislation and war powers would be a more recent example.

[0[: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire

Sorry my intent was to show that some of these events are even orchestrated by the government as was the case with Kristallnacht and while most assume the Reichstag Fire was too it is not as clear cut. I also wanted to show that not all of them are as with the case of the ArchDuke. I could have been more clear in that intent. I also intentionally steered clear of US ones as I did not want to invoke consprinoia discussions.

But the point being that a contingency in government live by the adage never let a good crisis go to waste.

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