Are all dictators delusional?

[helderheid]

I think so.

[rockymountaindem]

1. Hardly

Claiming that dictators are all delusional essentially means that you're admitting it's impossible to predict or understand their actions, and, as a history professor of mine once said, you are also absolving them of responsibility for their actions. Some dictators are delusional, but one should never paint with such broad strokes as to say they all are.

[helderheid]

2. okay, how about psychotic?

[rockymountaindem]

3. Same thing, IMHO

I think the best description to capture the sentiment you're probably trying to express is that dictators are unsympathetic to the plight of those beneath them. That's something that I think can be said for nearly all dictators.

[helderheid]

4. thanks!

:hi:

[rockymountaindem]

5. Well, I don't wanna sound like an ass or anything

I realize I came off kind of condescending just there, and that wasn't my point. I'll give you an example of what I'm talking about...

When people say "dictators are nuts", the first counterexample that springs to my mind is that of Russian Tsar Peter the Great. Now, people could argue over whether or not he was a dictator per se, as he had other layers of power in his realm with which to contend, but nobody can deny that he wielded very extensive power. Peter was somebody who was driven to shape his country in his own image, but also to improve whatever flaw he could find. To do this, he broke a lot of rules which had governed Russia for centuries. Firstly, when he was unhappy with the proficency of the military and civil service, he abolished placement by birth-status and replaced it with a comprehensive system of rank based on ability, testing and what once might call "performance reviews" in modern parlance. This resulted in smart but lowly-born members of the aristocracy being able to rise to high levels of power and responsibility if they proved themselves to be up to the task. Simultaneously, unsatisfactory members of the officer corps and civil service who had depended their whole lives on their titles and birth-rank to secure their livelyhoods were unceremoniously dumped. This resulted in a lot of people whose lives had literally been staked on the good name of their fathers being turned into pariahs. Peter didn't care about them; they weren't good enough for his new system and thus were kicked to the curb. This process was rational and for the betterment of the country, but ultimately bad for some people who had nowhere else to turn. That's one example of what I'm saying about indifference to the plight of people under the dictator. I could go on (about the 10000 people who died building St. Petersburg), but then I'd just start rambling. I hope this clarifies things.

[lvx35]

6. That's a REALLY important question in my book.

Nobody talks enough about the fact that Hitler was literally delusional, and believed in fictional conspiracy theories about the Jews, based on the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion". Dictatorships are simply about stupid/insane people being given lots of power and eventually becoming so strong nobody dares to act.

[undergroundpanther]

7. They are psychopaths

with authoritarian personalities, and they are well socialized in their psychopathy enough to know when to hide and lie about their sick desires and put up a false face to 'con' people into believing he is a good person..