^

na i think i may have tied a question to you, you didn't ask

👍

@DanielKO who said that it's fucking gold

That's a commentary about Mesquita's book, "The Dictator's Handbook."

It makes the argument that leaders act the way they do, because the system in place pushes them to act in a certain way, otherwise they get "replaced."

It's a really good book, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dictator%27s_Handbook

There's another book by the same name, different author, that's more of a satire.

Yeah, same with any political system. Kissing a baby on the head and all.

He makes the point that all governments, or even corporations, run on the same basic rules.

Yeah, why not have a vanguard of the communists to guide the proletariat ?

The point of the book is identifying precisely what are the rules, how they work out in practice, so you can then steer the government into something that benefits the population, and not the ruler.

The key for a tyrannical leader is to have a small pool of supporters that are easily replaceable. So they can't easily unite against you.

They themselves, want their own pool of supporters small and easily replaceable, so they can get removed if they risk taking your place. And so on.

As that pool grows, it gets harder to please them individually, so you need focus on pleasing their supporters. If it propagates down to the whole population, you end up with a government that has to satisfy the people.

@DanielKO Yeah you see tyrants doing really strange, seemingly unreasonable things like suddenly killing most of their friends, and such.... and you see it over and over. It's extremely predictable.

Like why is it that three generations of the Kim-Jongs are all monsters? You'd think that every new generation is a roll of the dice. What's the chances you'll get three psychopaths in a row, even in the light of inheritable heredity?

But it all becomes crystal clear and understandable if you look at it like you say. That there are these political laws that tyrants have to follow or they'll die.

Exactly. The neat thing is, the same rules work down to a simple corporation. The CEO has to please the directors board, which have to please the investors, which need to please the consumers.

Yeah. In large companies, you rule through ruthlessness, not skill.

Anyone with vision and managerial skill will bail when faced with the backstabbing realities of power politics. It's why Woz and Jobs parted company.

Some CEOs do a complete reshuffle of the board of directors, precisely for the same reason as a new dictator starts killing family members and friends.

Another thing at corporate levels, they make investors meetings at very expensive places, so only the richest ones can attend.

Worst part is that big companies will form an unholy amalgam with government. The game of power will blend together, where now you'll see CEOs influencing government to their own ends, and government influencing business, and neither side giving a billionth of a fuck about anything except their personal enrichment... so can they really be said to be separate at all?

Anyway, the book gets kinda depressing as it breaks down all sorts of shitty despots' behavior, as some kind of inevitable outcome. But at the end it provides some practical approaches at trying to change the system itself, that will then steer the leaders to benefit the population, and not just a few individuals at the top. It suggests things for both corporations, and governments.

You could try pulling on these systems in lateral ways. After all, people with consciences far outnumber CEOs and warlords. There may be something that could be done. Of course, it's part of the game of thrones that you don't let the populace realize they hold the true power if only they could coordinate.

But maybe the internet will change things. It's getting really hard to direct the herd.

I think understanding power politics is a good first step.

I’m reminded of this video
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs

Yes, that's based on the book.

"Rules for Rulers", something like that, would have been the title of the book, but I think his editor preferred "The Dictator's Handbook".

A lot of criticism is people misinterpreting it as being prescriptive instead of descriptive. As if he was recommending that people act in a certain way.

And some more criticism is for that it would excuse terrible dictators, because "it wasn't their fault they were evil, the system required them to be evil." When in reality, it's that the system in place attracted (and rewarded) evil people.

Did the quadroon leave permanently?

@qatal zanjiun he was never here dipshit

@Deleted User that cant be true, he was hiding under the alias of a bot

That left...

Yes

Because i called him a bitchmade nigga

His emotion module got fried

That was the sargoy himself

Wasnt it