#strongmantactic #election2020 #trump
Strongman, those politicians that cycle through time with the promise of fixing everything and anything the populous wants, just as long as they remain in power. Strongman are nothing new. For as long as humans have organized themselves into governments, there have been people presenting themselves as strongman. Man, that as long as you keep them in power, will fix any and all of your ailments.
Initially, these strongman, mostly do what they said they will do, if with little concern on the long-term consequences. As their power grows, so does their greed. Eventually they become dictators and the only way to remove them is by force. The path to a dictatorship is not easy, though it is pretty well mapped out.
- Arrive at a point in time where people either have fear or are angry.
- If the issue is fear, intensify it. If the issue is anger, find a group of powerless people on whom you can place the blame.
- The last part, placing the blame on the powerless is important because it does two things; 1) it ensures your rivals cannot fight back and 2) having someone against which to fight energizes your base.
- On the other hand, if fear is needed, then you must fan the flames through a promise of doom.
- And if you are lucky, the point in time will have both.
- Make sure to malign the media who sees through your fear-mongering or blame-game. Of course, legitimize that media which supports you.
- Posture yourself as the only person that can solve the problem(s).
- The problem-solving has to be fast and opportunistic. The people behind you are not patient, nor care for long-term solutions.
- If you run into roadblocks, use them as an opportunity to request more control. For example, if there are laws in place that keep you from enacting something, use this as an opportunity to change the laws with the pretense they are temporary/required for you do what your supporters demand of you.
- Repeat steps 2 to 4. Each time, your popularity will grow stronger and as a result, so will your power.
- As your power increases, your ability to remove political opponents increases as well. Initially you will have to work with your political opponents, however, your popularity will eventually allow you to discard them and replace them with cronies.
That’s it. You follow these steps and you are dictator. The path is clear, but not easy. You need luck, cunning and very little scruples.
The people of Venezuela were hungry and angry about the inequality in their government (1). Hugo Chavez used this opportunity to rebel against the government and promised prosperity if he was elected (2)(3). As soon as he was elected President, he nationalized key industries, in particular their petroleum industry which resulted in an economic boom (4). Chavez’s power and popularity increased as he rode a wave of high oil prices. With plenty of oil revenue at hand, Chavez was able to implement various social programs that helped his base (5). In 1999 Chavez introduced a new Constitution with the premise that it would provide more rights to its citizens. This new constitution also gave him more power and latitude to implement his solutions (6) as it no longer allowed impeachment of the President.
Why am I writing about this? The other day Trump was in New Hampshire at a rally. During the rally he claimed he was the only option NH citizens had in 2020 (see below).
While Trump has yet to reach step #6, he’s most definitely exceeded everyone’s expectations of how far he could and would go. From the silly escalator launch of his campaign, to mocking of opponents, to seeming immunity to any negative news, to the Presidency.
The only mistake left for us to make is to assume he has a limit. To think that he would not stoop any lower than he already has. That assumption is what got us here; and we can go lower.
