Originally posted by: preslove
That's not Authoritarianism. Authoritarianism is TOP --> Down. If the "you" in that example is an average joe then it is not Authoritarianism, but normal democratic response.
An ok synopsis on it.
"The term authoritarian is used to describe an organization or a state which enforces strong and sometimes oppressive measures against the population,
generally without attempts at gaining the consent of the population.
In an authoritarian state, citizens are subject to state authority in many aspects of their lives, including many that other political philosophies would see as matters of personal choice. There are, however, various degrees of authoritarianism; and even democratic countries have shown inclinations to authoritarianism in some respects....
As an example of the last case, modern democracies often once enforced laws that would be nowadays considered abusive and authoritarian: for instance, countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, until recently,
enforced sodomy laws imposing the moral and religious values of the majority over matters of private life.