Isn’t that what’s going on right now? For a certain definition of “gradual”. From the Boomers, through Gen X, the Millennials and the Zoomers, slowly stripping away rights, liberties and privileges until everyone’s a renter living from penny to penny and absurd wealth like Elon is normalized alongside militarized police, daily school shootings, homelessness and unaffordable healthcare/college. Arrest 10-year-olds and put them in solitary, train them through the prison system to work for absolutely free (see: constitutionally legal slavery). Use “war on crime” and “war on drugs” as an excuse to do mass arrests and put people to work as actual, literal slaves in for-profit prison camps as “punishment” for the most petty and double-standard “crimes”. Normalize 24/7 surveillance, so your masters know where you are and what you’re doing at all times. Normalize random killings of “suspects”. Normalize rigged “elections”. Before you know it, suddenly locking up the people of today is not so shocking anymore.