Weak and cowardly, hiding behind propaganda

The Dishonest Tyrant

By Daniel Greenfield
Sunday, March 14, 2010

Is government the servant or the master of the people? Over this simple question, wars have been fought, revolutions launched and battlefields left soaking in blood. Because the answer to this question determines whether you are living in a free nation which is ruled by its citizens, or a tyranny ruled over by the few or the one.

Within that broader category, there are two flavors of tyranny. The honest tyrant and the dishonest tyrant. The honest tyrant is a Will to Power type who asserts that he is master because he wields the biggest swords, commands the largest number of troops and will kill anyone who says otherwise. He may be a savage and a monster, but at least he is an honest one. He does not pretend to care for the people or what they think. His rule is not based on propaganda, only naked force.


But like the honest politician, the honest tyrant is a rare creature because most tyrants are cowardly and weak. Or at least cunning enough not to waste resources putting down rebellions by force, that they can preemptively disarm with propaganda. And so they disguise what they are behind propaganda. Propaganda that claims that they rule only for the benefit of the people.

Where the honest tyrant openly loots the people for his own enrichment, the dishonest tyrant claims to loot the people for their own benefit. The honest tyrant’s answer to rebellion is naked force. The dishonest tyrant’s answer is, “But just try to imagine what you would do without me.â€