Posted by Jay Livingston
We usually think of a dictatorship as a ship run by dictator – a strongman, a tyrant who has absolute power and can do anything he likes to anyone he doesn’t like. True, but it’s important to remember that dictatorship is not just a matter of personality. It is also a structure. Even a Saddam or a Khaddafi doesn’t do it all by himself. To carry out his directives, he needs other people in other organizations – a coalition of the willing. These usually include the military, but there may also be economic organizations, bureaucracies, and other groups whose strength the “strong man” needs. He has to make sure that they remain willing.
Any dictator worth his salt tries to minimize the power of these groups and to arrogate as much power as he can to himself and his family. Often, that is not possible, and the dictator must allow these others wealth and power in return for their loyalty. But even when it’s all in the family, he has to keep the family happy. Unhappy families are all alike – they can dissolve into conflict and even treachery.
This is one of the messages of The Dictator’s Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith.
Now, for those who are preoccupied with Wall Street, with its huge salaries and bonuses despite financial failure, Joshua Tucker at The Monkey Cage , extracts the money quote from The Handbook.
In terms of the political organization of businesses, large publically [sic] traded companies most closely resemble rigged election autocracies. There are typically millions of people – shareholders – with a nominal say in the choice of chief executive. But in reality the decision to retain a leader comes down to the choices of senior executives, board members and possibly a few large institutional investors. No executive lasts long if he does not keep this small group happy, which is why such insiders receive large bonuses and rewards even as the organization fails.--------------
* Most readers will recognize the allusion in the title of this post. For those who don’t follow the GOP all that closely, the reference is here.
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