How to remove a dictator using non-violent means. - Epilogue.
How to remove a dictator using non-violent means – Epilogue
I enjoyed my chats with AI about removing dictators using non-violent means. Instead of simply accepting what ChatGPT spewed out, I tested some of the answers with carefully framed follow-up question to gain confidence it was not biased and concluded that it was not. The next question I asked was for a realistic scenario that may bring about changes without violence being initiated by the protestors. Sometimes, despite the peaceful means of exercising our first amendment rights, we are met with violence. After reading over the answer entitled, “Scenario: A Non-Violent Challenge to Entrenched Power in the U.S.,” I thought it would be useful to post it with some cheeky commentary. (Italics are my comments.)
🧭 SCENARIO: A Nonviolent Challenge to Entrenched Power in the U.S.
🎯 Goal: Nonviolently dismantle the plutocratic grip on U.S. politics and shift toward a more democratic, equitable system.
🔑 Step 1: Widespread, Visible Legitimacy Crisis
Historical parallels: Argentina (2001), South Korea (2016), Tunisia (2011)
Conditions Needed:
A trigger event (e.g., mass financial fraud, stolen election, judicial collapse, systemic corruption) - This seems remote to me because fraud is rampant, 47 has already monopolized the stolen election gambit, and corruption is the cause du jour.
Public perception that the government no longer serves the people - Apparently a little more than half the country believes it serves them.
Bipartisan anger—across racial, geographic, and class lines - Who would not like to see this occur?
Example in the U.S.:
A major scandal implicating Wall Street, Supreme Court, and both parties—captured and verified on video or documents - Wall Street? Been there, done that!
Elite efforts to shield themselves backfire and provoke mass outrage
🔑 Step 2: Mass Mobilization Across Divides
Historical parallels: Serbia (2000), Chile (1988), Ukraine (2004)
Conditions Needed:
Protest infrastructure beyond traditional marches: strikes, slowdowns, boycotts, blockades, digital disruption - I’m on board with this.
Broad alliances between:
Unions
Youth movements
Disaffected veterans
Disenfranchised conservatives and progressives
A unifying slogan or demand, such as: - Yes! See below.
“End Corporate Rule”
“Democracy for the 99%”
“One Person, One Vote”
Tactics:
Gene Sharp-style civil resistance: noncooperation, mass refusal, targeted disruption
Occupation of symbolic sites (e.g., Wall Street, Capitol periphery, Federal Reserve branches)
🔑 Step 3: Elite Fracture and Defections
Historical parallels: East Germany (1989), Philippines (1986), Czechoslovakia (1989)
Conditions Needed:
Whistleblowers or defectors from elite institutions: Supreme Court clerks, federal judges, bank executives, high-ranking military officials - How can we foment these defections?
Retired leaders and conservative influencers joining the reform call
Business leaders fearing long-term instability begin negotiating reforms - The present value of money is everything to businesses. Highly unlikely IMHO.
U.S. Example:
A bipartisan group of former officials (e.g., Colin Powell/Elizabeth Warren types) support the movement
Military veterans speak out, vowing to defend constitutional democracy
🔑 Step 4: Institutional Leverage and Electoral Conversion
Historical parallels: South Korea (2016), Iceland (2009), Bolivia (2005)
Conditions Needed:
Movement transitions from protest to institution-building: forming parties, running candidates, seizing local and state power - Yes!
Legal pressure: mass lawsuits, Supreme Court reform efforts, referenda (where possible) - You mean the conservative, activist Supreme Court? Hah!
Targeted structural reforms: Yes to all the below!
End gerrymandering
Public financing of elections
Progressive taxation or financial transaction tax
U.S. Example:
Grassroots power wins majorities in key swing states through local organizing
A new wave of legislation passes—curbing elite lobbying, taxing ultra-wealth, reforming electoral systems
🔑 Step 5: Rewriting the Social Contract
Historical parallels: New Deal (1930s U.S.), Truth and Reconciliation post-apartheid South Africa (1990s)
Conditions Needed:
Nationwide civic engagement: constitutional conventions, participatory budgeting, truth commissions on corruption or inequality
Deep reforms in: - When I read this it made me think of Newt Gingrich and his Contract With America bullshit.
Health care
Education
Policing
Housing
Long-term public ownership and participatory governance initiatives
🧱 What Makes This Very Difficult—But Not Impossible
🔦 What Would Make It Possible
🎓 Final Takeaway (Scholarly Consensus)
Entrenched systems don’t collapse until they’re brittle, illegitimate, and unable to reform themselves. The U.S. system is deeply entrenched—but history shows that when civic resistance aligns with elite fracture, a peaceful transformation becomes possible.
I am convinced we can do this!
