Society doesn’t rest on armies or weapons.  It rests on what men believe.  No matter how many swords are drawn, they can only strike in service of an idea.  Force without belief collapses quickly.  Even resignation, even silence, is belief that resistance is futile or wrong.  Men submit not simply because of chains, but because they accept the reasoning that forged them.

Every action in society is directed by belief.  A decree carried out is not the result of mere force—it is guided by the conviction that obeying is necessary.  A soldier marching, a citizen paying, a worker complying—all are acts born of belief.  Tacit belief is still belief.  One may grumble at a law, yet follow it because the mind accepts that resistance is unwise, dangerous, or immoral.  In this way, obedience endures far beyond the reach of weapons.

Only a new belief can break the grip of the old.  Freedom doesn’t arrive through the sword alone, but through a shift in what men hold to be true.  A society bound by fear will remain in chains until its members believe in freedom more than they fear punishment.  Force can restrain the body, but never the mind.  The mind can only be subdued when it agrees to be.

Leaders themselves hold no physical power greater than the many they rule.  Their command depends on the conviction of others.  To subdue a larger group, they must first convince a smaller one.  That smaller band enforces the order, and its loyalty is shaped by belief.  Violence can cow men for a time, but not forever.  Only belief can stretch obedience into years, into generations.

History shows that rulers are always a minority.  Their strength rests not in their numbers, but in the acceptance of their ideas by the multitude.  A tyrant who rules without belief will soon be overthrown.  His commands dissolve when the people no longer accept them.  The bayonet may hold a man in place, but it cannot hold him there forever.  Force is brittle; belief is enduring.

In the long run, the majority cannot be ruled unless it believes it should be ruled.  Chains are sustained by thought, not iron.  When belief shifts, chains break.  No minority can hold down a majority whose minds are no longer captive.  The dominion of belief surpasses the dominion of force, and it is there that the fate of society is decided.

Reference

Ludwig von Mises; Human Action