Thought Control and Rule by "the People"
The Connection Democratic and Communist Regimes Have to Thought Control
Any system, be it democratic or communistic, that claims its right to rule as emanating from the people, will be unduly concerned with controlling what its people think. The freest minds to have ever lived were those that thrived in Germany under the rule of the Kaisers---Kant, Goethe, Fichte, Schiller, and Kleist---and in Austria under the Hapsburgs. In fact, it is the moment that France becomes "democratic" that free thought comes under attack. Look at the thinkers who wrote under the Bourbons; despite being a Genovese citizen, no one interfered with Rousseau, despite the heretical aspects of his thinking during his long sojourns in France—nor did anyone seek to imprison Voltaire. Free thought did not return to France until Napoleon restored the institution of monarchy. (Free thought in the US and England are interesting questions, but anyone familiar with Mill knows that the English were prone to shunning people with unconventional habits of thought---and its more democratic "constitution" is likely responsible for this. The US, on the other hand, had the first amendment but would otherwise have fallen down the rabbit whole of thought suppression much sooner than it did.)
I am not anti-democracy, by the way: Democracy reduces economic rent-seeking (this is among James Buchanan's great discoveries), allows for policy adjustment and reduces the risk of civil war. But let's face it, democratic systems make the government care what you think---and create a fight for your mind that systems of divine right never did.
One of the best ways to win votes is to control thought. A lot of our problems stem from this basic fact of democracy, and these problems won't be solved until we find a way to make this strategy off limits---or, at least, reduce its efficacy.