Russian journalist Masha Gessen is something of authority on dictators. Having covered Vladimir Putin for years -- including personally interviewing him -- she's very familiar with the species. She writes that there's a myth that such men -- they are mostly men -- are evil geniuses:
We imagine the villains of history as cunning strategists, brilliant masterminds of horror. This happens because we learn about them from history books, which weave narratives that retrospectively imbue events with logic, making them seem predetermined. Historians and their readers bring an unavoidable perception bias to the story: If a historical event caused shocking destruction, then the person behind this event must have been a correspondingly giant monster. Terrifying as it is to contemplate the catastrophes of the 20th century, it would be even more frightening to imagine that humanity had stumbled unthinkingly into its darkest moments.
But a careful reading of contemporary accounts will show that both Hitler and Stalin struck many of their countrymen as men of limited ability, education and imagination — and, indeed, as being incompetent in government and military leadership. Contrary to popular wisdom, they are not political savants, possessed of one extraordinary talent that brings them to power. It is the blunt instrument of reassuring ignorance that propels their rise in a frighteningly complex world.
Putin fits nicely into that mold:
As someone who has spent years studying Mr. Putin — and as one of a handful of journalists who have had an unscripted conversation with him — I can vouch for the fact that he is a poorly educated, under-informed, incurious man whose ambition is vastly out of proportion to his understanding of the world. To the extent that he has any interest in the business of governing, it is his role — on the world stage or on Russian television — that concerns him. Whether he is attending a summit, piloting a plane or hang-gliding with Siberian cranes, it is the spectacle of power that interests him.
And, like Putin, the long time star of The Apprentice is obsessed with spectacle and ratings:
In the past few months, Americans too have grown familiar with the sight of a president who seems to think that politics consists of demonstrating that he is in charge. This similarity is not an accident (nor is it a result of Russian influence). The rejection of the complexity of modern politics — as well as modern business and modern life in general — lies at the core of populism’s appeal. The first American president with no record of political or military service, Donald Trump ran on a platform of denigrating expertise. His message was that anyone with experience in politics was a corrupt insider and, indeed, that a lack of experience was the best qualification.
Trump may be a new experience for Americans. But his kind has been around for centuries.
On a personal note: I'll be away from this space for a few days. We're moving. The kids have flown the nest and my wife and I no longer need five bedrooms, ten acres and a barn. The toughest part of this experience is getting rid of 31 years of stuff. We're still purging and the moving van is coming tomorrow. When we're settled into our new home -- with a new internet connection -- I'll be back.
Image: mikesteeden.com
16 comments:
That's happening here too very shortly, Owen. Good luck.
I hope your move goes smoothly, Owen.
It's amazing how quickly things accumulate, Dana. When we moved into this house, we wondered how we'd fill it. We had no problem accomplishing that goal. Hope your purging goes well.
We're not moving far, Lorne -- just a few kilometres down the road. That part is easy.
.. ah ..
'Goin Down The Road' eh ?
That's right, salamander. But at our age, we can't go too far.
With regard to your post, Owen, the descriptions of dictators reminds me of Stephen Harper. He was often spoken of as the "smartest person in the room" by his sycophants but I could never see it. To me Harper was a rather dull clerk with one focus: blame the Liberals.
Canadians have been much quicker to assess Trudeau as photogenic but lacking in substance. Here in BC Christy Clark is wonderfully presentable on TV while stuck as a corporatist mouthpiece. We can say much the same for several of Canada's other Premiers. Leadership does not lure the best of the brightest. Popularity has little to do with capability or civic responsibility.
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Good luck with your move, Owen. We will wait with bated breath for your return to these pages.
Good luck with the move, Owen. I, too, am having a purge and I'm not going anywhere. There seems to be some mysterious force that quietly fills up every wall, every closet and cupboard, every spare bit of floor space. My kids come over now and I spend the time trying to load them up with stuff to take back to their place.
They are a reflection of their followers.
And many of them are either physical or intellectual runts. Often they're both. Beware particularly of the intellectual variety. They're harder to spot.
Have a good move Owen. Putin may be a thug but he is Russians Thug, not America's like Yeltsin and thats a good thing. China and Russia are the only thing between humans and humiliation. I say that in the sense that there is something to keep the masters of the universe from total domination.
There's a new biography of Obama out. He comes across as a hollow man dedicated to his own ambition. Hillary Clinton's actual accomplishments were either horrendous or thin gruel.
I highly disapprove of Putin's domestic policies. He panders to the most reactionary, bigoted, patriarchal, corrupt segments of Russian society. But I'll tell you; when it comes to foreign affairs, he sounds 1000% more sane and sensible than the dip-shits speaking for the USA, Canada and Western Europe.
Putin believes in the virtues of hard power, thwap. Nations across the globe seem to be following suit.
If you're worried about where the United States is headed, Steve, you are right to worry. I'm afraid, though, that I don't view China or Russia as altruistic powers.
We are considerably lighter than we used to be, Mound. But all three of our children have no fixed addresses, so we have rented a storage locker that is mostly full of their stuff. When they come back for visits, we're expecting that they'll empty the locker -- and not fill it up with new stuff.
Popularity is no measure of competence, Toby. See you in a few says.
There are those who pose as intellectuals, John. And then there are the real McCoys. These days there are many more of the former than the latter.
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