An Overview of Dictators, Dictatorships, and the Mind of A Dictator A dictatorship is a system of government where the person who rules is not restricted by a constitution, laws, or opposition. In the past history of the world, there have been several dictators and dictatorships that have risen and fallen; sometimes to be replaced by another dictator or a new form of government. However, they have not disappeared and you can still see dictatorships in the world today. There are common patterns and traits that can be seen in dictators and their steps to dictatorship. Becoming a dictator isn’t just a simple task, and it requires different techniques and methods that have been changed and altered throughout the years, some of which can be seen today in the world.
Why do people become dictators? There are more
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The enemy can vary from specific issues, religions, or races (How to Become A Dictator). Dictatorships from the past differ from dictatorships today. There are numerous famous dictators from history, some of which are extremely terrible. One of the earliest dictators was King Herod the Great. He was commonly known for his mass murder of all male children under the age of two in the region of Bethlehem to seize the life of infant, Jesus, to keep him from succeeding him (Rank 140). However, that incident wasn’t the only thing he did to keep his dictatorship, as stated in this excerpt from Rank’s book History’s Worst Dictators:
“During his rule, Herod the Great slaughtered three of his male progeny (Alexander, Antipater, and Aristobulus), two brothers-in-law (Aristobulus III who was drowned at a party and Kostobar), and his second wife Mariamne I, whom he only took to secure the throne. He exiled his first wife Doris and their son, Antipater to marry Mariamne I. He also killed his second wife’s mother Alexandria, who made the mistake of trying to overthrow
In today’s world, there are several types of governments that control their countries. There are democracies, dictatorships, republics, monarchies etc. Absolute monarchy was a very common form of government centuries ago. Throughout this time period, many leaders, dictators, monarchs made mistakes that the government looks at today. The abuse and misuse of power by absolute monarchs inexorably led to the rise of modern democracy. This is shown through leaders abusing their powers as absolute monarchs, the unreliability of monarchy, and corrupt governments.
people decide that they want a dictatorship. If I was a ruler during the period of the
The dictatorship also manages to keep its subjects in line through brainwashing. As Prometheus writes, "Everything which comes from the many is good. Everything which comes from the one is evil. Thus have we been taught with our first breath." Also, as children, the ruled are forced to recite, "By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers," meaning that the only moral justification they have for living is service. By imbuing each subject with the moral premise that the "many" is always good and the "one" is always bad, the dictatorship manages to virtually eliminate any thought of opposition. In opposing the dictatorship, one is opposing the will of all people with one's singular will, and thus is evil. The moral creed that the dictatorship inculcates gives it a moral s...
rule of dictators do not rise to overthrow their government. Perhaps, Machiavelli might have been
...e stop them not the enemy, not even some that they used to call allies. Is this why the world looks at dictators and can only see senseless and cruel mad man that will stop at nothing and will kill everyone that stands in there way, or were they just men striving for excellence that did what was necessary to survive and stay in there positions of power, even if it meant killing. Either way, it there actions shaped how we look at dictators now.
Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, Jesus Christ, Mahatma Ghandi, Lucifer; the list could go on. All these men had one thing in common; they were extraordinary leaders who gained loyal followers. These men also had several differences; the biggest being that some were destructive with their power and their ideals weren’t exactly on par with normality. Yet, what made people follow and respect the wishes of leaders who were destructive and insane? The attraction to these powerful leaders is found in the way that they are able to fill a void in that individual’s life. This void could consist of longing for safety and care, being lonely, or even missing having that family atmosphere. These are all things that destructive leaders are adept at providing.
In history, governments have endeavored to rule their subjects. Major forms of authority consist primarily of monarchy, absolute monarchy, oligarchy, democracy, tyranny, theocracy, and republic. By examining the main faults of each government, the republic is clearly the superior form.
Autocracy-A government system, where a person or group has total power over a country. The Russian autocrat at the time of the emancipation of the serfs was Alexander the Second who was assassinated.
They like to damage people’s confidence, because they know they do not have good self-esteem. Also, dictators are very reliant on others, because they want people to do their dirty work. When two dictators come together, they can possibly go to war as allies together and make horrific changes in their surroundings. To conclude, the similarities, bullies and dictators seem to have comparable traits. But I believe a dictator is more menacing than a bully, because a dictator controls a country’s way of life, has thousands of supporters and they try to pick on somebody.
“We strive to be like all our brother men, for all men must be alike” (Ayn Rand, Anthem). If everyone is the same no one can be superior, no one will believe they are better; because once someone believes they are better than others they are harder to control. For any dictator to stay in power they need to be in total control of their people; and children are the best and easiest of individuals to mold their minds into what the dictator wants them to believe, think, and do.
Imagine yourself in a world where you are constantly having to fear not being able to ever be free from this cage that you've been wanting to get out of for so long. Now imagine that suddenly just being your real life and not just a world that was just imagined, it’s almost too unbearable to think about but this happens. The book “Before We Were Free is a good example of that. The books takes place in the Dominican Republic in the 20th century, when the Dictator at the time was Rafael Trujillo, or in other words El Jefe. Dictators are a ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained power by force. Till this day there are countries that are still ruled by dictators, for example, North Korea However, having a dictator
Around the 20th century, the end of the First World War cleared the way for the formation of democratic regimes. Why they had not been successful, why the people didn't use the opportunity to establish a democratic political system and why did the dictatorships appear, is still unclear, but it is a very discussible subject. The decisive role in these processes was the human being. It was the object of the cause, but on the other hand he was also the subject - executor of all the problems as well.
Beginning in kindergarten, young children around the age of five would disrespect their parents and teachers because they would not know better. Later, beginning in the adolescent years, young adults would just push aside all authority in general to show that they do not wish. Eventually, by the time men and women would become full adults, they would begin to violate laws and regulations set by others, even the omnipotent government. Why do people rebel against authority?
The Oxford Dictionary defines totalitarianism as ‘a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state’ . A totalitarian regime possesses power over affairs of the state and its inhabitants under one party and bears no opposition. A key attribute of a totalitarian government is that is looks to shape the mind and actions of society through determination, philosophy, and in general, force.
One of the most infamous and powerful dictators of the 20th century would have to be Adolf Hitler. He was the leader of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. His attack on Poland in 1939 started World War II. He also caused the death of over 6 million Jews and other groups he believed were a threat to Aryan supremacy, during the Holocaust, with the establishments of concentration camps. Hitler then later killed himself on April 30, 1945, in his Berlin bunker with his wife Eva Braun.