Imagine you're a typical working class guy. You feel like a loser. So you say to yourself, "
I'm not a loser, I'm part of America, and America is a winner. I'm a winner." Like a sports team, only with cluster bombs.
Then the new millenium begins, and now America is losing. Even when you live vicariously you're losing. America was a winner, now it's becoming a 3rd world country. What now?
Now you live vicariously through Donald Trump. The non-stop shouting, bragging, putting his name and face on everything, the status symbols....It all makes sense to an insecure person. Increase it to a national level, and you've got a tin-pot dictator.
Tinpots are demagogues that grow from the humiliation of being a 3rd world country. They have huge egos, both personal and national, they brag, both about themselves and their nation, they consume conspicuously, with palaces and national prestige projects. But that's not the important part. The important part is that their attempts to make their nations great again only turns their nations into contemptible laughingstocks. They're losers.
You know how when you're hungry, you picture yourself eating a huge spectacular feast, when all you really need is a granola bar or something? Tinpots are like that, only with a hunger for dignity and respect. All people needed was a little respect, but as the hunger grows it becomes megalomania and next thing you know you're invading the Falkland Islands.
So what's uniquely wrong with tinpots?
1. Though they impress the domestic audience, they look pathetic to other countries.
This is already happening to America. We're becoming a laughingstock.
2. Their thin skin makes them crush dissent, and with it our system of government
Trump: Sueing everyone he can, wants to open libel laws so he can sue more, inciting riots, freaking out over stubby finger jokes.
3. They start lots of pointless wars, putting ego above strategic sense
Trump: Any criticism makes him revert to childish insults. Picking fights with everyone, even the Pope, even Bernie, when strategic sense says Hillary is his rival.
4. Their prestige projects become embarrassing boondoggles
Trump: His whole career is gold-plated status symbols. He promises not just a wall, but a beautiful wall.
5. They can't admit failure, so they have to scapegoat someone, leading to division and oppression at home, and more enemies abroad
Trump: Goes beyond the normal GOP scapegoating playbook, started his political career with conspiracy theories re:Obama, vaccines, Mexican government "Sending us" their criminals.
6. A big ego alienates other countries, losing friends and gaining enemies
Trump: Hardly getting along with the Mexican president. It's bad enough to make enemies, but to make enemies of next-door neighbors?
7. Tinpots are losers. Losers tend to lose.
Fails everytime he leaves
the rentier economy of Manhattan Real estate and collides with a functioning free market. Only real success is in being famous for being famous. We might as well vote for Paris Hilton.
8. Instead of the best available advisers, they surround themselves with yes-men
Trump: Advisers are not the best available. Clearly chosen on some other criteria.
Why haven't people pattern-matched Trump to tinpots yet? First of all, the status symbols have changed. For most tinpots, "
greatness" meant Napoleon and/or British Royalty. So they would wear European-style uniforms, award themselves medals, give themselves titles, erect statues of themselves, live in palaces, and hold military parades.
Trumps "
greatness" is different only superficially. In his world "
greatness" means limos, trophy wives, yachts, gold-plated everything, and commuter planes that are to heavy to take off thanks to their marble interiors.
His greatest luxury is being able to say what he wants, I bet all the working stiffs like to live vicariously though that. Anonymous nobodies can get how he puts his name on everything. He uses power the way they would use power.
There's a third type of tinpot style, the European tinpots, for whom "
greatness" meant ancient Rome. Mussolini was the most famous one, which brings me to my next topic:
The other reason nobody has spotted the Trump-tinpot pattern: America's tyrant-radar has been calibrated to spot only certain tyrants.
Voters are vigilant for Hitlers, Lenins, and Bin Ladens - the scary, effective enemies.
We tend to forget pathetic enemies - our history is mostly bragging, and who brags about winning a fight with a bug? We beat Saddam Hussein, Noriega, and Qaddafi without breaking a sweat. Santa Anna is ancient history to us.
Now we need to add tinpots to the "
do not elect" list, because even if Trump is easily beaten, all the other would-be tinpots are paying attention to our vulnerability. Expect a whole generation of tinpot wannabes to pop up - and expect them to be more dangerous. Expect lots of "
like Trump, but without the [election-losing trait]".
We look for ideologues, which tinpots tend not to be. Peronism was an ideology of whatever Peron was thinking at that moment, Qaddafi was switching teams every couple of years. Tinpots don't pay any attention to the left-right political spectrum, which makes them very appealing, because the left-right spectrum is a terrible model that deserves to be ignored. The only real spectrum is how close you are to perfect Biblical law.