Yes, Christopher, you have expertly described the techniques of dictators and would be dictators. Perhaps in your next installment you will explain what it is that they are exploiting. But just in case that is not your plan I shall state it here.

The negative offset of the tribal instinct that causes folks of a similar kind to work together for a common benefit is fear and hatred of the “other.” This is the dictator’s ace in the hole and always will be.

Every society has a certain persentage of folks looking for reasons outside of their own shortcomings to blame for there failings. Dictators provide them psychological cover by pointing to the other as reasons why things haven’t worked out for them as well as they would have liked.

Plainly and simply put such persons are egocentrically stupid. There are two things the human ego won’t tolerate — change and blame. And so for those devoid enough in intellect needed to push aside their ego when appropriate they look for scapegoats, and to their great relief the authoritarian leader will oblige them.

Or another way to look at societal order, Game of Thrones is the natural way of things except in very homogeneous and sophisticated countries like today’s Scandinavian nation’s. Otherwise plain folk are looking for the strong man to take responsibility for their lives.