The Rules for Rulers

world where the best and smartest democracies are sustainable,... ... the worst and richest dictatorships are sustainable and are in the middle of a valley of revolution. Resource-rich dictators build roads only from the ports to the resources and from their palace to the airport,... ...and people remain calm not because it is acceptable or because they are afraid,... ...but because the bitter truth is: the illiterate and the hungry are not good revolutionaries. Now, an average impoverished dictator must, as mentioned before, take a large amount of wealth directly from the poor farmers and factory workers of him. Therefore, two roads are not enough and he must maintain minimum living standards for citizens.

But keeping the workforce somewhat united, somewhat educated, and somewhat healthy... ...makes them more capable of rebelling. Now understand: the romantic image of people storming the gates and overthrowing the dictator is mostly just a fantasy. If you have an average dictatorship, people will only attack the palace if the military *allows* them to take it from you,... ...because you've lost control of your keys and are being replaced. This is why, after "popular revolts" in average dictatorships, the new ruler is usually the same as the previous one, if not worse. The people did not replace the king, the court replaced the king, using popular protest to do so.

The same bridges that a benevolent dictator wants to build across the valley... ... take the treasure of the keys to power and make citizens more capable of rebelling,... ... often end with a ruler more strict. , more loyal to keys and fewer opportunities to build bridges. On the other hand, the best democracies are stable not only because of the large number of keys... ...and their conflicting desires that make dictatorial revolts almost impossible to organize... ...but also because revolt destroys the property that was intended to be taken. The very high productivity of citizens. Also: those who would help the future dictator in a democracy know that he plans to get rid of some key supporters when he comes to power.

This is the meaning of a coup d'état. Therefore, potential key supporters must weigh the likelihood of survival and potential reward... ...against the risk of being left out of a dictatorship they helped create. In a stable democracy, that's a terrible gamble: Maybe you're incredibly rich... ...but chances are you're dead and have made life worse for everyone you know. The math says no. Being on the right side of a coup means having the resources to provide for yourself and your family what the villagers don't have. Healthcare, education, quality of life: these are the things that make the race for power fierce.

But in a democracy the majority has these things, why take the risk? So, the more a nation's wealth comes from its productive citizens... ... the more power is distributed and the more the ruler must preserve the quality of life of those citizens. The less, the less. Now, if a stable democracy becomes very poor,... ... or if a resource is found that leaves behind the productivity of citizens,... ... the probabilities of this game change, and it becomes possible for a small group to take power. Because if the current quality of life is terrible, or wealth does not depend on citizens, it is worth risking coups.

When democracies fail, these are usually the reasons. Conclusion * Grim music * These

rules

for

rulers

explain not only why some people are monsters and others are merciful,... ... but everything related to politics: from war to international aid, political dynasties and corruption. We can talk about all this another time. But for now, you, inspiring ruler, may be tired of the world of politics... ...And you have decided to avoid it altogether, but you can't, because

rulers

come in many forms. Yes, kings, presidents and prime ministers, but also Deans, mayors and Chiefs. These

rules

apply to everyone and explain their actions: from the CEO of the world's largest business conglomerate... ... who needs to keep his board of directors happy, to the president of the smallest homeowners association,... . .. which manages the votes and the spending of the membership fee.

You cannot escape the power structures. You can only turn a blind eye to their understanding, and... ...if you ever want the change you dream of, there is one rule 0 that you cannot ignore. Without power you can't influence anything. You may not like these rules, but you'd probably rather be on the throne than anyone else. And who knows, maybe you'll be different. *Somber, slowly fading piano music* This video and its successors are based primarily on The Dictator's Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alistair Smith,... ...which is simply the best book ever written about politics. There's a lot more detail and a lot more examples than I could ever hope to show in a video series.

Every citizen should read this book and... ...if you want to support the channel, you can get a copy at Audible.com/Grey~~, which is where I discovered this book many years ago. Sign up for Audible with that URL, you can get a free thirty-day trial and listen to the book (not in Albanian). So if you want to understand the politics of the people, if you want to understand the rules for rulers as they apply to everything,... ...Go to audible.com/grey~~ and download a copy of the Dictator's Handbook. . You will not be disappointed. Start your 30-day free trial, listen to this book, listen to one of the other 180,000 audiobooks... and other spoken audio products offered by Audible.

They are a fantastic service. Audible is how I get and listen to my audiobooks. You can do the same. Audible.com/grey~~ Thank you for supporting the channel.