A good synopsis.
Re: Has anyone read "The Dictators' Handbook?
A good synopsis.
An enemy that wishes to die for their country is the best sort to face - you both have the same aim in mind.
Science flies you to the moon, religion flies you into buildings.
"If you can't trust the local kleptocrat whom you installed by force and prop up with billions of annual dollars, who can you trust?" Lemur
If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain.
The best argument against democracy is a five minute talk with the average voter. Winston Churchill
Re: Has anyone read "The Dictators' Handbook?
Heh, ordered, never heard of it I at least want to own it. Everything in that video should be obvious to everyone but... well. Author amd Morgenthauseemto share a common dominator; power. The works of Machiavelli also didn't age at all
Last edited by Fragony; 02-06-2018 at 12:38.
Re: Has anyone read "The Dictators' Handbook?
I've got it and am reading through it. Very enjoyable book for us cynics!
"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"
-Abraham Lincoln
Four stage strategy from Yes, Minister:
Stage one we say nothing is going to happen.
Stage two, we say something may be about to happen, but we should do nothing about it.
Stage three, we say that maybe we should do something about it, but there's nothing we can do.
Stage four, we say maybe there was something we could have done, but it's too late now.
Re: Has anyone read "The Dictators' Handbook?
Im currently slogging my way through Peter Wilsons history of the 30 years war.
There, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford
My aim, then, was to whip the rebels, to humble their pride, to follow them to their inmost recesses, and make them fear and dread us. Fear is the beginning of wisdom.
I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation.
Re: Has anyone read "The Dictators' Handbook?
Bought it to pass the time at dialysis.
So far nothing too surprising in it, but a good read
Ja-mata TosaInu
Re: Has anyone read "The Dictators' Handbook?
Have to say, the argument in the book sounds familiar.
I remember analysis of Latin American countries that broke down in similar ways, along the line of primary, secondary and tertiary support.
That aside, it does give an interesting lens through which to look at the Trump administration.
The tax reform was key. For true believers: any tax cut is a good one; this policy certainly qualifies. Most of the money goes to the top; those in the population much like Trump...imagine that.
The lower fruit are any policies that overturn anything Obama did.
The message is clear; if you want to redistribute wealth, that's ok just so long as it goes to the right people. Further, deficits are not a problem in the service of the "correct" people.
Ja-mata TosaInu
Re: Has anyone read "The Dictators' Handbook?
It's a fun read, nothing that you shouldn't already understand, with examples of what you already understand
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