Regimes in power for the sake of power tend to be short sighted. Representative Republics are a little better at looking down the road. Communists are the very best at long-term vision, because Marxism tells them they must endure 400 years of socialism until they become fully functional Utopian communists. So often the mentality of true believers is that they are building something for future generations. The problem with socialism, is that the personalities that seek power always end up in charge, so human nature always prevents it from working. Neither the short sighted power hungry, nor the true believers care.

@TimTuolomne It appears that most of the Western World is only focused on a two to three time into the future, perhaps that has contributed to take over by socialist thinking.
What is the longest lived Communist, Marxist state so far. Even China's political class looks as though they may be on shacky ground. History shows that one can not contain human nature very long.

@TimTuolomne Regimes become totalitarian because it's clear that the system is breaking down. The tipping point to collapse is when the regime does nothing except fix the problems that it has created, which is what most Western countries are doing now.

@ScottforKing. There are some problems that no government based on Liberty can fix, no matter how much we might feel it should. Tyranny is very good at keeping order, but very poor at feeding its masses, and dismal at respecting the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Throwing out a system because it can't fix the unfixable is not very intelligent. And the Left in the US is willing to throw sand in the gears at every opportunity to prove that the Constitution doesn't work. How much of the problems that you feel should be fixed lay at their feet?
There have been arguably 100 million people killed that way throughout history. Is that a problem with the Constitution? No. It is a problem with a people grown ignorant of its value.

@TimTuolomne There are many problems that can not be fixed.. We have come to the point now where we deny a problem exists and only deal with the issues. like poverty and crime, whereas, the problem is meaningful work. Rome thought having a dictator from time to time was necessary but if the dictator became a tyrant, if was in their constitution to kill him with impunity.

I agree that citizens have grown too lazy and ignorant. Them that should know better allowed it to happen. We have put our privileges ahead of our principals and we are rapidly loosing both.