Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in On Tyranny, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Collapse of American Democracy
Tyranny and the Consolidation of Power
Political Action and Civic Responsibility
History and Memory
Summary
Analysis
Successful political resistance requires diverse groups assembling publicly to demand change. Snyder uses an antigovernment strike in Poland in 1980 as an example of how a broad coalition can demand change. Each section of this coalition previously lost its own individual fight, but by working together, these groups created a labor union and put pressure on the government. The communist government then outlawed the coalition, but when the government grew weak in 1989, the coalition gained power and helped establish democracy. This shows how people must “draw the line” separating the private and public spheres for themselves.
Although Snyder’s example of Polish labor organizing might seem oddly specific and irrelevant to the contemporary United States, his point is that people cannot just disagree with the government: they must actively organize themselves and demand change. This is “corporeal politics” because it requires people to take their bodies outside—and, possibly, put those bodies on the line. When he argues that people must “draw the line” between public and private, Snyder means that people must actively engage in politics—the public sphere—so that the government cannot increasingly take control over the private sphere. If citizens instead passively wait for the government to act, the government will be able to continue gaining power, taking away their rights, and shrinking the sphere of what they can keep private.
Themes
