the legalised, institutionalised, rule of fear
a system in which those rule that are able to cause the most fear
in some way this can be a organic progression of one of the basic foundations of civilization - extortion and pacification trough threat and terror
but this would go beyond simple extortion of taxes and racketeering
the person of the ruler and the person of the subject would have to be in direct relation of terrorizer and terrorized, weather in a direct physical way, trough delegates of the ruler such as police squads, or trough legal and especially financial systems
the core ideas would be that it is in the interest of all that all are compliant and so the "greater good" or just the good of the great legitimises any counter measure against those who are not compliant
but it is better to prevent than to cure, so a constant state of terror must be maintained, and preemptive action taken regurarly by the propper organs to prevent any potential non-compliance
at some point it becomes more energy efficient to just keep the population scared by use of mass media, constantly repeating the same images, so that the threat becomes more present and effective even if less real
emphasis would indeed have to be on legal system, aloving the state a wide range of possibilities, and eliminating or distorting the practical application of civil rights
one of the main differences between this and numerous other systems in the past and present would be the lack of pretenses of paternalism, popularized identity, or "positive" propaganda, rather the cultural hegemony itself would be maintained by direct reference to hyperbolized cruelty and brutality of the state apparatus, and a thick atmosphere of doom, violence and terror
something along the lines of a totalitarian regime not covering up its crimes against humanity, but rather parading them on state television, especially to its own population, so building its whole propaganda around a "this is what well do to you if you dont keep your head down" line
the end result that is aimed at is a state of mind of the average citizen in which one is more than content and considers fortunate simply not being punished, beyond any need for or consideration of possible reward
the origins could start in ancient Greece, perhaps some Polis that takes up the ideas of Trasimah and the like, but does not stop merely at establishing tirrany, but takes effort to institutionalize the terror and find legitimization in philosophic thought
then around the 18-19th centuries some absolute monarch or some new revolutionary dictatorship digs up its old references and declares new official rule of fear
i know this sounds a lot like many known systems by other names, but well.... anyway
any thoughts?