Humanity's Eternal March Toward Its Own Enslavement Perhaps the most terrifying defect in human nature is mankind's extraordinary capacity to embrace its own enslavement. Throughout history, entire populations have surrendered their freedom, property, dignity, and ultimately their lives, often without offering meaningful resistance. Some were conquered by force. Others were seduced by promises. Still others enthusiastically welcomed the very political movements that would eventually destroy them. Cowardice undoubtedly plays its part. So does the comforting stupidity of believing that evil can be appeased, that tyranny can be negotiated with, and that tomorrow cannot possibly be worse than today. The human imagination seems remarkably capable of envisioning paradise while remaining almost entirely incapable of recognizing the approaching gates of hell. The tragedy is that tyranny rarely announces its intentions. No aspiring dictator campaigns on a promise of concentration camps,...