No Stupid Questions

The leader is always right.

You cannot question the leader.

If you question or defy the leader, it usually means ostracision/imprisonment/execution.

Protests are illegal or strictly monitored for dissent and no meaningful change will occur because of said protest.

People are snatched away under suspicion of treason and without a fair trial (usually the suspect has no trial, or a sham/show trial).

News and media is usually selective and controlled by the leader and propaganda is dispersed to the populace to maintain the status quo.

Making jokes or comedic routines about the leader is punishable by imprisonment or death, because above all else, tyrants are bullies and cannot stand to be mocked.

They usually disband/arrest labor unions and workers' rights groups or co-opt them and trick workers into voting for those who would see them come to harm.

The economy usually functions to push wealth to the elites because it becomes easier to manage a nation when you have loyalist sycophants running the industries that keep the economy producing.

The military is usually used to crack down on dissent and revolutions, usually violently.

The military and police forces are very well paid and rarely see meaningful consequences for breaches of conduct or excessive uses of force because maintaining an armed group loyal to the leader is how you secure leadership.

If it's a theocracy, usually a singular religion is allowed, and all others are removed as heretical.

If it's a monarchy, usually the king/queen requires high taxes to maintain their lavish lifestyles.

Keep in mind, these are generalizations and it depends on what kind of autocrat you're dealing with.

Work any non-union corporate job. You can't pick your boss, you have to do what you're told as soon as possible, and you are under constant surveillance. You're also expected to publicly act enthusiastic over stupid management policy announcements. Deviate from any of this and you're punished by losing your livelihood.

• Zero news media criticizing the leader(s)

• Obsession with playing the National Anthem constantly in schools.

• Obsession with Pledges¹ or Flag Raising Ceremonies²

• Mandated Politically related Attires³

• Government involvement in family planning⁴

• Non-violent⁵ critique of leader(s) results in near certain police warning/harassments or detained/arrested

¹USA "Pledge of Allegiance"

²PRC, Flag-Raising Ceremony was done very frequently, I remember it being like either weekly or monthly

³PRC, the "Little Red Scarfs" that symbolizes "Communism", I didn't know what that meant at the time

⁴PRC: One Child Policy, forced abortions against the mother's will, forced sterilizations; On the other side of the coin, in USA: Abortion bans and forced to continue an unwanted pregnancy

⁵PRC: "Xi should resign"; USA: anything Charlie Kirk related, Bald JD Vance memes, anything deemed "anti-ICE"

You asked for authoritarian, I cited something that defines a different concept.

::: spoiler definition of fascism

Umberto Eco, in 1995, laid out 14 common charactistics that characterize what he describes as ur-fascism, fascist societies independent of the time and place.

1. Cult of Tradition – A syncretic belief in ancient truths, rejecting modern interpretations.
2. Rejection of Modernism – Viewing the Enlightenment and rationalism as the root of moral decline.
3. Cult of Action for Action’s Sake – Valuing action over reflection, leading to anti-intellectualism.
4. Disagreement is Treason – Suppressing dissent and critical thinking as threats to unity.
5. Fear of Difference – Exploiting xenophobia and racism to unify the in-group against outsiders.
6. Appeal to a Frustrated Middle Class – Mobilizing those feeling economically or socially displaced.
7. Obsession with a Plot – Promoting conspiracy theories to justify aggression against perceived enemies.
8. Enemies are Both Too Strong and Too Weak – Portraying adversaries as simultaneously formidable and feeble.
9. Pacifism is Trafficking with the Enemy – Viewing life as perpetual warfare, dismissing peace efforts as betrayal.
10. Contempt for the Weak – Glorifying strength and dismissing compassion as weakness.
11. Everybody is Educated to Become a Hero – Promoting a cult of death and martyrdom.
12. Machismo – Elevating aggressive masculinity and denigrating non-conforming sexual behaviors.
13. Selective Populism – Claiming to represent the unified will of the people, dismissing individual rights.
14. Newspeak – Employing an impoverished vocabulary to limit critical thought. :

“Ankh-Morpork had dallied with many forms of government and had ended up with that form of democracy known as One Man, One Vote. The Patrician was the Man; he had the Vote.” — Mort (1987) by Terry Pratchett

A single person, or small group, control everything.

Dissention is not allowed. Those people are removed via various methods from threats, to the jailing, and potentially all the way up to accidentally falling out a window or off a balcony.

You don't get to vote or if you do it doesn't matter. There is little to no separation between the three pillars executive, legislative, and judicature. So there is little to no oversight, which leads to a breakdown of the rule of law. People can and will be disappeared. People live in fear and try to adapt, self-censor. Authoritarian leaders need a bogie man, somebody they can blame for all their failures. So an ethnic group, minority, or another country will constantly be blamed for everything from the economy to ingrown toe nails. The elite will get richer, everybody else pretty much won't.

Just imagine a cult of personality. One person who demands/secures blind allegiance such that they are effectively the sole remaining authority on any given topic infected by the cancer, ranging from education to health care to myriad other policy decisions.

Go to .ml and disagree with someone.

Voila!

A list often used on this topic is from a famous academic and writer you may know: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur-Fascism

Three words: Is not funny

Think of the list of political rights you take for granted. The right to voting, free speech, association, peaceful assembly, etc. Those don't exist or are severely curtailed, meaning that political activity and discourse that anger the ruling class can and will be punished. How much is tolerated and what kind of punishments are doled out varies depending on the strength and heavy handedness of the ruling regime.

every society that does not grant you your basic human rights is considered authoritarian. these include: freedom of speech, freedom of press, fair trials, elections, right to education, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights

It's a meaningless term with a non-definition definition. Like that old definition of porn... "I can't tell you what it is but I know it when I see it".

Usually used as a way to paint the enemy as "bad". Except it's almost always a pot/kettle situation.

Every regime of any kind has laws and rules that are flouted by the ruling classes.