It wasn’t meant as a direct analogy. A more direct analogy would be, we’ve got a nation of fat men who elect popular leaders who then decide whether (A) some unknown (quite low or quite high) number of fat men will get run over by trolleys, or (B) a large and predictable number will be forced to live under an autocratic regime from now on, reducing the risk of trolley fatalities for at least a few more years. Mind you, I’m told that only 20% of Ukrainians are obese, so even this analogy is a little strained.
It wasn’t meant as a direct analogy. A more direct analogy would be, we’ve got a nation of fat men who elect popular leaders who then decide whether (A) some unknown (quite low or quite high) number of fat men will get run over by trolleys, or (B) a large and predictable number will be forced to live under an autocratic regime from now on, reducing the risk of trolley fatalities for at least a few more years. Mind you, I’m told that only 20% of Ukrainians are obese, so even this analogy is a little strained.