Dr. Marcel Dirsus

So in the book, I looked at a dictator that actually lost his mind, like fully lost his mind and became completely delusional. And what happened is, so this was in Equatorial Guinea during the Cold War. He would walk around his compound crying out the names of the people that he had killed. And in one episode, he would ask his servants to lay the table for eight guests.

And when those guests didn't arrive, he just talked to them as if they were there.

And when those guests didn't arrive, he just talked to them as if they were there.

And when those guests didn't arrive, he just talked to them as if they were there.

Yeah, and the problem was that even if he had wanted to get it treated, he couldn't because literally every single psychiatrist in the country had either fled or been killed. So you had a situation where the guy in charge with all this power had completely lost his mind and all connection to reality.

Yeah, and the problem was that even if he had wanted to get it treated, he couldn't because literally every single psychiatrist in the country had either fled or been killed. So you had a situation where the guy in charge with all this power had completely lost his mind and all connection to reality.

Yeah, and the problem was that even if he had wanted to get it treated, he couldn't because literally every single psychiatrist in the country had either fled or been killed. So you had a situation where the guy in charge with all this power had completely lost his mind and all connection to reality.

And as a result, he lost power very quickly because the people around him decided, look, if we could get killed, whether we oppose this guy or not, We might as well start opposing him because there's no advantage to staying in line. And he was just killing at random. So you need the capacity for rational thought and for weighing risks in order to stay in power.

And as a result, he lost power very quickly because the people around him decided, look, if we could get killed, whether we oppose this guy or not, We might as well start opposing him because there's no advantage to staying in line. And he was just killing at random. So you need the capacity for rational thought and for weighing risks in order to stay in power.

And as a result, he lost power very quickly because the people around him decided, look, if we could get killed, whether we oppose this guy or not, We might as well start opposing him because there's no advantage to staying in line. And he was just killing at random. So you need the capacity for rational thought and for weighing risks in order to stay in power.

And if you lose that, you will inevitably lose power.

And if you lose that, you will inevitably lose power.

And if you lose that, you will inevitably lose power.

No, you're right. Natural resources are really great for dictators. And the reason for that is that you can generate a lot of money without being reliant on a lot of people and without necessarily being reliant on competence. So if you go back to Gaddafi, for example, Gaddafi was extremely worried about universities because he thought that as people become more educated...

No, you're right. Natural resources are really great for dictators. And the reason for that is that you can generate a lot of money without being reliant on a lot of people and without necessarily being reliant on competence. So if you go back to Gaddafi, for example, Gaddafi was extremely worried about universities because he thought that as people become more educated...

No, you're right. Natural resources are really great for dictators. And the reason for that is that you can generate a lot of money without being reliant on a lot of people and without necessarily being reliant on competence. So if you go back to Gaddafi, for example, Gaddafi was extremely worried about universities because he thought that as people become more educated...

These universities could become a hotbed for opposing the regime. So he was critical of education as such. And if you have, let's say, oil, or if you have, let's say, diamonds, you don't need to educate people, which in the mind of these dictators is either a waste of money, because that money could also go to their cronies, or is actively dangerous.

These universities could become a hotbed for opposing the regime. So he was critical of education as such. And if you have, let's say, oil, or if you have, let's say, diamonds, you don't need to educate people, which in the mind of these dictators is either a waste of money, because that money could also go to their cronies, or is actively dangerous.

These universities could become a hotbed for opposing the regime. So he was critical of education as such. And if you have, let's say, oil, or if you have, let's say, diamonds, you don't need to educate people, which in the mind of these dictators is either a waste of money, because that money could also go to their cronies, or is actively dangerous.

And the other good thing about it is that you don't need a lot of competent people. As a dictator, you want to promote for loyalty. If you're choosing your ministers, you don't want to pick people that are actually good at their job at creating good outcomes for the population.