Which political system did Thomas Mann defend in Reflections of an Unpolitical Man?

In his 1918 political treatise Reflections of an Unpolitical Man, Thomas Mann defended the authoritarian state against the principles of democracy.1

In this work, Mann positioned his views within the tradition of "revolutionary conservatism," favoring creative irrationalism over what he termed "flat" rationalism, and inward culture over moralistic civilization. It is important to note that Mann later repudiated these antidemocratic ideas following the establishment of the Weimar Republic in 1919, eventually moving toward an espousal of democratic principles.1