The Dictator’s Handbook: Brief Book Review
History, from the Beginning (Book #17)
In 2018 I realised my knowledge of history was plain bad. This series charts my re-education, starting from the big bang and working my way to present day one book at a time. (Learn more)
There are few examples of books where the person finishing it is different from the person who started it. This is one such book.
The Dictator’s Handbook addresses questions which have long puzzled me: How do tyrants hold onto power for so long? Why are failed business executives still given enormous bonuses? In general, why is bad behaviour almost always good politics?
In popular culture we focus a lot on the perpetrators of these bad acts, painting the disgraced business owner or cruel dictator as singular crimes against humanity, and despair at how such people come into power. However The Dictator’s Handbook proposes these events aren’t anomalies, but logical outcomes from a system that incentivises their behaviour. We cannot rely on people in power to have good morals. Instead it’s the responsibility of the system to incentivise leaders to lead in a way that that aligns with their desire to hold on to power, and the interests of people they’re leading.
This book does not pull any punches in its pragmatic depiction of politics. But I believe it’s a truthful depiction that offers a new way to understand a complex world that rises above the daily politicking.
If you often find yourself disheartened by unjust exercises of power, this book can offer some justification, even if it taints the rose-tinted glasses.
