The Rules for Rulers

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ต.ค. 2016
  • Adapted from 'The Dictator's Handbook': amzn.to/2fgBWps
    Part 2: • Death & Dynasties
    Grey discusses this video on Cortex: • Rules for Rulers Discu...
    Also Grey needs a new office because of this video: • I Need a New Office...
    Special Thanks:
    Bruce Bueno de Mesquita & Alastair Smith
    &
    Mark Govea, Thomas J Miller Jr MD, dedla , Robert Kunz, John Buchan, Ripta Pasay, Saki Comandao, Andres Villacres, Christian Cooper, Michael Little, PervertedThomas , Nevin Spoljaric, سليمان العقل, Tony DiLascio, Richard Jenkins, Chris Chapin, Faust Fairbrook, Jason Lewandowski, Michael Mrozek, Jordan LeDoux, Chris Woodall, rictic , Ian , Tod Kurt, Phil Gardner, Chang Wang, Kozo Ota, Jordan Melville, Martin , Steven Grimm, Joe Pantry, Colin Millions, Muhammad Shifaz, Chris Harshman, Jose Reyes, Guillermo , Ron Bowes, Tómas Árni Jónasson, Mikko , Derek Bonner, Derek Jackson, Orbit_Junkie , Timothy Basanov, David Michaels, Mark Elders, Donal Botkin, Veronica Peshterianu, Paul Tomblin, Travis Wichert, chrysilis , Ryan E Manning, Erik Parasiuk, Rhys Parry, Maarten van der Blij, Kevin Anderson, Ryan Nielsen, Esteban Santana Santana, Dag Viggo Lokøen, Tristan Watts-Willis, John Rogers, Edward Adams, Leon , ken mcfarlane, Brandon Callender, Timothy Moran, Peter Lomax, Emil , Tijmen van Dien, ShiroiYami , Alex Schuldberg, Ryan Constantin, Bear , Jacob Ostling, Solon Carter, Rescla , Hystiklopp , Andrew Proue, Tor Henrik Lehne, David Palomares, Cas Eliëns, Freddi Hørlyck, Ernesto Jimenez, Osric Lord-Williams, Maxime Zielony, Lachlan Holmes , John Lee, Ian N Riopel, AUFFRAY Clement, John Bevan, Robert Grünke (trainfart)
    Music by: www.davidreesmusic.com

ความคิดเห็น • 30K

  • @CGPGrey
    @CGPGrey  10 หลายเดือนก่อน +861

    Making this video caused me to need a new office… and to terrorize my neighbor: th-cam.com/video/D2AMBafWr08/w-d-xo.html

  • @louischo2701
    @louischo2701 7 ปีที่แล้ว +6553

    1. Be straight.
    2. Mark centimetres and millimetres on yourself.
    3. Be short and light enough to be able to be used as a ruler.

    • @secretmilo
      @secretmilo 7 ปีที่แล้ว +439

      Louis Cho you lost me at "be straight"

    • @Coyoteari
      @Coyoteari 7 ปีที่แล้ว +207

      Louis Cho I failed step 1

    • @scorpionmccormack2093
      @scorpionmccormack2093 7 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      Louis Cho so don't be gay, American or fat

    • @alwinpriven2400
      @alwinpriven2400 7 ปีที่แล้ว +75

      pretty good rules for being a ruler.

    • @PatrickAllenNL
      @PatrickAllenNL 7 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      Whats a centimeter???

  • @thedocblock6421
    @thedocblock6421 5 ปีที่แล้ว +21162

    Instructions unclear, became a key smith

  • @fruity4820
    @fruity4820 2 ปีที่แล้ว +23583

    "Democracies are better places to live than dictatorships not because representatives are better people, but because their needs happen to be aligned with a large portion of the population". This might be the most optimistic sentence in this video, in a weird way

    • @knightshousegames
      @knightshousegames ปีที่แล้ว

      It just goes to show the democracies of today are slipping further away from democracy.

    • @Loromir17
      @Loromir17 ปีที่แล้ว +1502

      Think of it like of a beekeeper and his bees, or of a farmer and his cattle. Their livelihood depends on their property's productivity, which happens to correlate with the latter's well-being a lot - but that doesn't mean they're friends or equals.

    • @jiangciyang3860
      @jiangciyang3860 ปีที่แล้ว +313

      more aligned than dictatorship, but still not enough

    • @angelcakes5151
      @angelcakes5151 ปีที่แล้ว

      Maybe this is why America is getting worse to live in? Automation is making citizens less necessary to production, so our rulers can start to ignore social issues and inequalities again

    • @knightshousegames
      @knightshousegames ปีที่แล้ว +172

      @@angelcakes5151 So this is how Humans Need Not Apply comes to pass.......in a more dystopian way than we even imagined initially.

  • @acolotlgames
    @acolotlgames ปีที่แล้ว +11458

    Im Austrian and failed art school but this inspired me to pursue politics in Germany

  • @tdimensional6733
    @tdimensional6733 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2870

    To quote the Donkey Kong Country cartoon:
    "He who holds the coconut, rules."

    • @ethangoldsmith9332
      @ethangoldsmith9332 4 ปีที่แล้ว +34

      Hol nut, rule

    • @thetayterminator1436
      @thetayterminator1436 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      The "Golden Rule", he who holds the Gold Rules.

    • @novkorova2774
      @novkorova2774 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      The problem is that what people decide has some power over other, in democracy violenece through the state is validated, so if 90% of people want to make it legal to kill the other 10%, when someone else likes shitty music, or a shitty film or shitty shoes you don't care because they are free to like that and you are not affected by that, democracy is the mass apressing the rest, forcing them to follow their beliefs.

    • @krishivagarwal5189
      @krishivagarwal5189 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      The coconut being the said nation's resources.

    • @baranxlr
      @baranxlr 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      So it is written.

  • @EdgyShooter
    @EdgyShooter 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19517

    I know the banana represents food, but I like the idea that all dictators have one key guy who demands bananas

    • @beausheffield1895
      @beausheffield1895 4 ปีที่แล้ว +248

      EdgyShooter Ba-nan-a

    • @blade0xb
      @blade0xb 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1510

      I think its a nod to the banana republic

    • @sercan7272
      @sercan7272 4 ปีที่แล้ว +382

      Fucking Chiquita

    • @thegamingnerd7526
      @thegamingnerd7526 4 ปีที่แล้ว +175

      4:38
      Your welcome

    • @johnnyprencipe696
      @johnnyprencipe696 4 ปีที่แล้ว +134

      also to represent a banana republic

  • @mohammadkhazaee9818
    @mohammadkhazaee9818 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6594

    Rule 0 : Without power you can affect nothing
    Rule 1 : Keep the key supporters on your side
    Rule 2 : Control the treasure
    Rule 3 :Minimize key supporters

    • @dendrogenhs
      @dendrogenhs ปีที่แล้ว +163

      Rule 1, Corollary: if vying for power, over-promise since you will not need everyone later. Isolate key supporters, especially before consolidating power... Be it so that they cannot cooperate to de-thrown you or through facebook groups so that they do not know what you over-promised e.g. pieces from the same budget...

    • @nothing9260
      @nothing9260 ปีที่แล้ว +119

      Rule -1: Keep the Army happy

    • @SirNobleIZH
      @SirNobleIZH ปีที่แล้ว +239

      Rule 34: do not search for porn of yourself once you gain power

    • @mohammadkhazaee9818
      @mohammadkhazaee9818 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      @@SirNobleIZH 🤣

    • @kevinsabellico7608
      @kevinsabellico7608 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      I thought Rule 0 was keep the army happy

  • @leesnotbritish5386
    @leesnotbritish5386 ปีที่แล้ว +5716

    This video has legitimately had a huge impact on how I view politics and government. If I could make everyone in the US watch a single video, it would be this

    • @urbanfrog
      @urbanfrog ปีที่แล้ว +83

      Same, view this video when it came out, and it really shaped who i am today

    • @Hohhot
      @Hohhot ปีที่แล้ว +249

      Screw only the US, make the whole world watch this

    • @missously2088
      @missously2088 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      Reminds me of the ongoing protests in Iran right now.

    • @Stierenkloot
      @Stierenkloot ปีที่แล้ว +37

      It is in my top three videos on TH-cam and I can’t think of what the other two are right now. I always think of this one though.

    • @andrewconti2993
      @andrewconti2993 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      If I could force everyone to watch one, it would be the ranked choice voting one.

  • @lcrn6288
    @lcrn6288 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5525

    People: Yay we are free
    New Dictator: More like, “Under new management”

    • @shosty575
      @shosty575 4 ปีที่แล้ว +128

      Megamind?

    • @jothamstephens104
      @jothamstephens104 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      AH YAH

    • @PatricioHondagneuRoig
      @PatricioHondagneuRoig 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Oh Titan

    • @gusking3928
      @gusking3928 4 ปีที่แล้ว +71

      The cruelty of the old dictator is no more!
      Now, let a whole new wave of cruelty wash over this lazy land!!!

    • @caldwell9-0
      @caldwell9-0 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Gus King. Not lazy, just unable

  • @SpicyChickenGodAJ
    @SpicyChickenGodAJ 7 ปีที่แล้ว +7022

    This is the best Tropico tutorial I've ever watched.

    • @comeonandslamandwelcometot2418
      @comeonandslamandwelcometot2418 7 ปีที่แล้ว +46

      Spicy pls

    • @SilverWave64
      @SilverWave64 7 ปีที่แล้ว +114

      Hahaha :D Grey just posted your comment on Twitter! :D

    • @AzraelNewtype0079
      @AzraelNewtype0079 7 ปีที่แล้ว +168

      I don't know about all that. Part 1 sounded like a CK2 desmesne management tutorial to me.

    • @redswift31
      @redswift31 7 ปีที่แล้ว +31

      I fucking love Tropico

    • @dawidkiller
      @dawidkiller 7 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Reminds me I got it on steam for free.

  • @fulluf
    @fulluf ปีที่แล้ว +4387

    watching it again 6 years later and it still is the best explanation of politic rules ever.

    • @SuHwak
      @SuHwak ปีที่แล้ว +71

      Not just that, but its been true throughout age of time, even right now. Case-in-point, The president of Peru chose the path of Revolt->Fail->To Jail (see 15:40).

    • @robertruschak7083
      @robertruschak7083 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      👑 of everything 👑

    • @jamaalfridge
      @jamaalfridge ปีที่แล้ว +11

      So you got the book the video is based on, right?

    • @sirrebelpaulc3439
      @sirrebelpaulc3439 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@SuHwak Apparently we lived for thousands of years in a different system that broke these rules and everyone was happy and sustainable. They're not here anymore, of course. Ask any leftist anthropologist and they'll say that without giving any proof or examples.

  • @bquimby5223
    @bquimby5223 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2713

    "These rules apply to all, and explain their actions. From the CEO of the largest global conglomerate, who must keep his board happy, to the chair of the smallest homeowners' association, managing votes and spending membership fees. You cannot escape structures of power. You can only turn a blind eye to understanding them."

    • @LeBonkJordan
      @LeBonkJordan ปีที่แล้ว +1

      What they don't want us to realize is that structures of power, whether hierarchical or not, are artificial. Neither hierarchy nor egalitarianism are natural for humans; they are choices that we can make. When they say we can't escape hierarchies, the truth is that we can't escape them _without demolishing them._

    • @dinamosflams
      @dinamosflams ปีที่แล้ว +153

      "you can ignore reality, but you never be able to ignore the effects of you ignoring reality"

    • @kasamigi8031
      @kasamigi8031 ปีที่แล้ว +101

      "Blinding yourself doesn't make the sun go away"

  • @cksoup
    @cksoup 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4855

    my rules for rulers:
    -must have increments of measurment
    -must be accurate
    -must be practically sized

    • @charlesfraunhofer7893
      @charlesfraunhofer7893 4 ปีที่แล้ว +73

      Rules for rulers: make a set of rules, that's it.

    • @itssillysam26
      @itssillysam26 3 ปีที่แล้ว +261

      Meanwhile in America:
      The car is about 8 fridges away from our house.

    • @Number1tnfan683
      @Number1tnfan683 3 ปีที่แล้ว +95

      Enclave Soldier all measurement is arbitrary

    • @adferxis
      @adferxis 3 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      @@Number1tnfan683 Someone who gets it

    • @chinezerebel9443
      @chinezerebel9443 3 ปีที่แล้ว +50

      -must be sturdy enough to whack your dying gold mine slaves

  • @geluk_425
    @geluk_425 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8471

    “When approval ratings couldn’t be lower, yet re-election rates couldn’t be higher, youll know you’ve succeeded” yikes

    • @masac2853
      @masac2853 3 ปีที่แล้ว +610

      Cough putin cough

    • @JoelLundqvist98
      @JoelLundqvist98 3 ปีที่แล้ว +986

      @@masac2853 Cough, Cough, US Politics.

    • @aturchomicz821
      @aturchomicz821 3 ปีที่แล้ว +52

      @@JoelLundqvist98 ok?

    • @JoelLundqvist98
      @JoelLundqvist98 3 ปีที่แล้ว +738

      @@aturchomicz821 Approval for congress is 20% but reelection rates are around 80-90%. Politicians on both sides (more republicans though) draw congressional districts in ways that will put certain voting blocks into certain districts making it incredibly easy for them to win.

    • @TechnoMinarchistBall
      @TechnoMinarchistBall 3 ปีที่แล้ว +457

      @@JoelLundqvist98 This is because a large number of people believe the presidency is the only vote that matters. They're fools.

  • @shigotaichikuchi5924
    @shigotaichikuchi5924 ปีที่แล้ว +1936

    "When approval ratings couldn't be lower, yet re-election rates couldn't be higher, you'll know you've succeeded"...MOST PROFOUND STATEMENT EVER

  • @andywest6768
    @andywest6768 ปีที่แล้ว +765

    Thanks! I bought the Dictator's Handbook after watching this, and found it instructive.

    • @CGPGrey
      @CGPGrey  ปีที่แล้ว +612

      Instructive? 😬

  • @BRUN1SOUL
    @BRUN1SOUL 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5801

    Best quote i've ever heard "The throne may look omnipotent from afar, but take the throne to act, and the throne acts upon you." I don't know why it sticks to well to me.

    • @tegan1802
      @tegan1802 3 ปีที่แล้ว +231

      Don't get me wrong, I love the quote alone, but spinning it to sound like a warning just gives it that little extra tingle in the spine that really sets you on edge. In my opinion at least.
      "That throne may look omnipotent from afar, but trust me when I tell you that all is not as it would first appear; you may take the throne to act, but only when it is too late will you realise that it is the throne that has acted upon you."

    • @adhithyap.9441
      @adhithyap.9441 3 ปีที่แล้ว +40

      @@tegan1802 ooh dramatic. this should be in a novel

    • @LK_tutturu
      @LK_tutturu 2 ปีที่แล้ว +129

      @@tegan1802 the original is already a clear warning, dense, short and sweet. You make it longer with unnecessary words.

    • @tegan1802
      @tegan1802 2 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      @@LK_tutturu Sure - the extra words are unnecessary to get the point across, but which is more dramatic?

    • @LK_tutturu
      @LK_tutturu 2 ปีที่แล้ว +63

      @@tegan1802 certainly the former. If you want, you can just deliver it with dramatic pauses. There are reasons why quotes are so quotable, as I mentioned. It is, however, still a subjective matter.

  • @bakedbeans2163
    @bakedbeans2163 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19708

    Grey, you've inspired me to become a dictator. Thank you.

    • @brendansunra
      @brendansunra 2 ปีที่แล้ว +897

      Can I be one of your keys? I'm a polisci grad with a knack for electoral strategy and coup-proofing. My services would be quite beneficial to your new regime.

    • @bakedbeans2163
      @bakedbeans2163 2 ปีที่แล้ว +609

      @@brendansunra Absolutely. But before I appoint you, how can I be certain that you won’t topple me if times get rough?

    • @brendansunra
      @brendansunra 2 ปีที่แล้ว +618

      @@bakedbeans2163 Well, if times get tough because you're making bonehead decisions you can't be certain I won't.

    • @rifz42
      @rifz42 2 ปีที่แล้ว +356

      @@brendansunra Can I be one of your keys, if BakedBeans screws up?

    • @brendansunra
      @brendansunra 2 ปีที่แล้ว +408

      @@rifz42 Yes, on 3 conditions:
      1. Keep this whole "plotting against BakedBeans" thing on the DL
      2. Have a relevant skillset for running our empire
      3. Be a fan of late 2000s pop

  • @paulaneary7877
    @paulaneary7877 ปีที่แล้ว +774

    WOW, this is the BEST explaination of how politics and a few other things work in this crazy world. Far Better explaination than I have gotten from ANY teacher ANYWHERE in my life. Thank You so much!

    • @remembergandhi5583
      @remembergandhi5583 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      The best video i have ever seen on youtube!

  • @kroegerfamily8371
    @kroegerfamily8371 ปีที่แล้ว +928

    CGP Grey is putting me down the path to either becoming a cruel dicator or a violent ararchist

    • @su1t0n11
      @su1t0n11 ปีที่แล้ว +58

      Depending on the country you live in, I don't give hope to any. The army won't just let an anarchist movement spike up, that is not how you make money

  • @sarahgraves6759
    @sarahgraves6759 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2021

    "... And who knows, maybe you'll be different." Good last line, mate.

    • @TrollSlayerLogan
      @TrollSlayerLogan 4 ปีที่แล้ว +65

      Adolf and Pinochet's worst crime was being different

    • @notsojharedtroll23
      @notsojharedtroll23 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@TrollSlayerLogan xd

    • @Karl_der_Genosse
      @Karl_der_Genosse 4 ปีที่แล้ว +40

      @@TrollSlayerLogan
      I'd rather say the holocaust and throwing people out of helicopters were their crimes mate

    • @Karl_der_Genosse
      @Karl_der_Genosse 4 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      @@TrollSlayerLogan
      In the bombings of dresden didn't die serbs. How could these bombings kill 17 Millions?
      God, you will never be part of our society.
      Come to germany and we show you what we think of Nazis like you, you won't last a second

    • @TrollSlayerLogan
      @TrollSlayerLogan 4 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      @@Karl_der_Genosse Is it the same Germany under Merkel? Place looks more divided than Bosnia

  • @hkayakh
    @hkayakh 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4663

    Rules for being a ruler
    1) be made out of wood
    2) have tick marks every inch/centimeter
    3)be used for measuring

    • @hkayakh
      @hkayakh 4 ปีที่แล้ว +97

      4)be rectangle

    • @royisdabest
      @royisdabest 4 ปีที่แล้ว +202

      rules for being a ruler 2.0
      1) metal, wood, plastic, I dont give a shit
      2) metric only, no hamburger eagle gun marks per centimeter
      3) be made to measure penis and penis only

    • @shikderarfan6596
      @shikderarfan6596 4 ปีที่แล้ว +53

      you IMBECILE. Stainless steel, cork backed, 18 in rulers are far superior, and can be used to whack people as well as measure things incredibly accurately

    • @hkayakh
      @hkayakh 4 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      *_-5) get broken-_*

    • @XCHDragox115
      @XCHDragox115 4 ปีที่แล้ว +53

      If created in Asia:
      6) used by parents to lecture their kids

  • @sl33pw17h4ng3l5
    @sl33pw17h4ng3l5 ปีที่แล้ว +402

    Your tone of voice for this video is what I can only describe as Neutrally Evil; you calmly lay out the reasoning and motives for political (in?)action with a benevolent maliciousness.
    Which is, almost more than the content itself, terrifying. Excellent use of music to underscore it all.

  • @Randoman590
    @Randoman590 ปีที่แล้ว +935

    Grey mentions how taking the Moral High Road makes the game more difficult by giving leverage over your Keys to your rivals. That got me thinking. Is there any amount of sheer charisma or moral inspiration in your supporters that can overcome that temptation to backstab the ruler? Are there any notable historical examples of Key Supporters rejecting a better offer from a rival out of sheer loyalty to their current ruler or their cause?

    • @Mark_badas
      @Mark_badas ปีที่แล้ว +198

      It's a rule not a law.

    • @lilyabatliwala6789
      @lilyabatliwala6789 ปีที่แล้ว +478

      Like he said, "Even if you have gathered the most loyal, angelic supporters, they have the same problem as you, just one level down."
      "They too must watch out for rivals from below or above: thus the treasure they get must also be spent to maintain their position."

    • @anatar2518
      @anatar2518 ปีที่แล้ว +154

      There is one. Maybe the only one Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. But it comes from pure loyalty from military and people to a war hero . So it is a bit cheating.

    • @joshskier
      @joshskier ปีที่แล้ว +222

      @@anatar2518 I don't think it's cheating at all; it is a valid criteria. If becoming a war hero is what it takes to max out your charisma stat then so be it.

    • @Aaronlune
      @Aaronlune ปีที่แล้ว +105

      Spend enough treasure on the ruled (or simply convince enough of the population that you are) and you can make the ruled unruly if you are deposed. What I think the video gets 'wrong' that even in dictatorships you still need enough support from the populous. To a degree the ruled population is still a key. Guns, armor, fortification, organization and stuff are all force multipliers and a military utterly divorced from the populous is hard to foster even with a caste system, at some point a population willing to potentially die for freedom can overcome a military. JC got stabbed to death because (and other reasons) he was trying to use this fact to get around needing the keys of the senate.

  • @STUV101
    @STUV101 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3597

    In all honesty I just use these rules to make good rulers and villains for Dungeons and Dragons.

    • @kingslushie1018
      @kingslushie1018 4 ปีที่แล้ว +194

      I am gonna probably use these rules in making my novel.

    • @zzzzaaaa9966
      @zzzzaaaa9966 4 ปีที่แล้ว +36

      STUV101 I do the exact same

    • @anh-san
      @anh-san 4 ปีที่แล้ว +57

      STUV101 why did I not think of this, thanks man.

    • @i-love-comountains3850
      @i-love-comountains3850 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      solid!!

    • @makse10
      @makse10 4 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      Killer idea. I'll have to try it out. Cheers.

  • @minervablake7573
    @minervablake7573 7 ปีที่แล้ว +3081

    Damn, I never realized that stick figures could be so expressive...

    • @justincronkright5025
      @justincronkright5025 7 ปีที่แล้ว +79

      Watch some other videoes on the mind and all that stuff will start showing you that... Maybe, it's just our brains doing most of the work. We're making a nice story up for the flashing of stick figures coming and going one by one.

    • @arulmalhotra8587
      @arulmalhotra8587 6 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      same

    • @TRG_real
      @TRG_real 6 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      When you have 2k likes and 3 comments....

    • @feynstein1004
      @feynstein1004 6 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Check out Historia civilis. You'll marvel at how you come to care for a collection of squares and boxes.

    • @Wilker_uwu
      @Wilker_uwu 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      ever heard of Animator vs. Animation by Alan Becker?

  • @cyberlord64
    @cyberlord64 ปีที่แล้ว +113

    Every once in a while, I see something that makes the lightbulb above my head light up. Suddenly a concept not only makes sense, but becomes a link to other concepts, like a jigsaw puzzle that fits in the middle of a picture bringing it all together.
    Thank you for this

  • @wisemoldsthoughts2119
    @wisemoldsthoughts2119 ปีที่แล้ว +158

    I started a coup in my military academy group because our leaders were not thinking about all members and were selfish and arrogant, then I became a leader, then I understood that it is impossible by nature to make everyone happy when someone needs to do the job no-one wants to do, then I became selfish and arrogant... cycle complete

    • @Flamme-Sanabi
      @Flamme-Sanabi ปีที่แล้ว +6

      I assume there was a second coup?

    • @wisemoldsthoughts2119
      @wisemoldsthoughts2119 ปีที่แล้ว +34

      @@Flamme-Sanabi and you are 100% right :) I made a couple of mistakes in managing all relationships and I was a bit too arrogant without even caring about my "keys"... so, basically I kept the official status and role but in fact there was a silent "don't do anything he says and try to harm him if possible" mood in my group in the last year of our education, basically, I lost all allies and reputation and ended up just having a role, some privileges and doing my business

    • @Flamme-Sanabi
      @Flamme-Sanabi ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@wisemoldsthoughts2119 that's too bad, better luck next time, though try to follow the given rules of this video a bit closer.

  • @Nugcon
    @Nugcon 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10359

    I successfully started a coup and became a dictator after running for school president. Great video.

  • @endothegreatthief4432
    @endothegreatthief4432 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6107

    This really never stops being relevant, does it?

    • @littlewhizard723
      @littlewhizard723 3 ปีที่แล้ว +274

      It won't ever not be

    • @Doctor-Infinite
      @Doctor-Infinite 3 ปีที่แล้ว +35

      Ah a fellow Celeste fan. You're a woman of culture
      Especially if you watch videos like this

    • @user-bg6xh7vv7t
      @user-bg6xh7vv7t 3 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      maddy pfp huh? 194 golden strawbs here, how about you

    • @NeostormXLMAX
      @NeostormXLMAX 3 ปีที่แล้ว +37

      until the end of humanity

    • @matthewnewhouse4634
      @matthewnewhouse4634 3 ปีที่แล้ว +88

      It's scary how many people now a days don't realize this is how governments works. People always think that governments have the peoples bests interest in mind until they are well bad off that they can't ignore it.

  • @GraysonStealth
    @GraysonStealth ปีที่แล้ว +272

    I'd have to say... this is the best informative video on the internet

  • @kevingubernatis3324
    @kevingubernatis3324 ปีที่แล้ว +103

    That last bit was absolutely true. Some of the most insidious kinds of corruption perhaps not the worst, but the most common place are in municipal, and local politics. Somebody who gets elected mayor, and institutes a project that repairs the roads, who conveniently has that project start on their Street, it's far too commonplace, and far too accepted.

  • @TheFarCobra
    @TheFarCobra 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1871

    4 years later and still the most important video on the internet.

    • @murilo2330
      @murilo2330 3 ปีที่แล้ว +60

      power is eternal, therefore, stuff explaining about power is also eternal.

    • @reeeeeeeeeeeeeeman6757
      @reeeeeeeeeeeeeeman6757 3 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Wait this was 4 years ago

    • @TheFarCobra
      @TheFarCobra 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      @@murilo2330 Well put.

    • @drabberfrog
      @drabberfrog 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I agree

    • @JalalShahoud
      @JalalShahoud 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      I mean really can this ever go irrelevant? Please?

  • @sporkeh90
    @sporkeh90 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5140

    Stalins solution: refresh those keys every other week.

    • @hristiyandelisyarov6487
      @hristiyandelisyarov6487 2 ปีที่แล้ว +367

      Sixteen times the power....it just works

    • @ehabuossef8026
      @ehabuossef8026 2 ปีที่แล้ว +338

      I mean yeah why would you need to pay your keys if you can just kill them every week and focus on your people
      You complain?
      You dont like the money i give you?
      You demand more money or you overthrown me?
      Alright then *gun bullet sound*

    • @kramarancko1107
      @kramarancko1107 2 ปีที่แล้ว +58

      But if he killed them on a regular basis to be replaced wouldn’t the people who would become keys eventually catch on and stop trying to become the keys?

    • @hamdaanchalky7724
      @hamdaanchalky7724 2 ปีที่แล้ว +159

      @@kramarancko1107 but the keys were living better lives than the peasants. Rather live better for a week than die a sad death after ur sad life. Also they were gambling on the chances that they would survive.

    • @randombystander991
      @randombystander991 2 ปีที่แล้ว +134

      If they remain loyal, they're safe. Many Stalin's subordinates worked with him for a very long time, some during all his rule even.

  • @benh715
    @benh715 ปีที่แล้ว +82

    This video should be part of every school curriculum. It’s a great way to understand the world.

    • @devon301f
      @devon301f ปีที่แล้ว +9

      But remember, democracy’s are still a for-profit business and therefore education and community are a danger to it. Proper US history and education on its structure are not a part of curriculum for a reason.

  • @ti2218
    @ti2218 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6945

    They'd never show us this in school yet this is one of the most important things a student could learn about the balance of power on Earth.

    • @alzhanvoidsansado
      @alzhanvoidsansado 3 ปีที่แล้ว +153

      You can always make this a presentation.

    • @ti2218
      @ti2218 3 ปีที่แล้ว +206

      @@alzhanvoidsansado that's a genius idea. Maybe I'll get an opportunity,but I'm on my last months of senior year so I don't know.

    • @amiable97
      @amiable97 3 ปีที่แล้ว +88

      over here we had discussions like these in high school politics classes dont know why they wouldnt do so in other places. Sometimes even done in a class roleplay scenario where we chose our dictator and leaders etc. even in History classes. maybe i just got lucky with teachers who knows.

    • @ralphscopo738
      @ralphscopo738 3 ปีที่แล้ว +36

      I actually did watch this video in one of my classes

    • @adhithyap.9441
      @adhithyap.9441 3 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      @@ti2218 same. I really wish they showed this to everyone, including me in my earlier schooling years.

  • @oswald7597
    @oswald7597 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5670

    "The people only storm the palace when the army let's them"
    Funny that

    • @DrOfficedog
      @DrOfficedog 3 ปีที่แล้ว +157

      A it was totally a coup when they didn’t try to hold it or make demands.

    • @bradenallen1241
      @bradenallen1241 3 ปีที่แล้ว +247

      @@DrOfficedog Doesn't matter what it was, they're terrorists either way.

    • @DrOfficedog
      @DrOfficedog 3 ปีที่แล้ว +231

      @@bradenallen1241 they’re only terrorists because they entered government property/Support the President. In the 60s an armed radical terrorist group stormed the capital, made demands and nothing happened to them. Those terrorists were Black Panthers.

    • @flexingfletchyt4756
      @flexingfletchyt4756 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      V for vendetta: Yep ima write that down

    • @d.m.collins1501
      @d.m.collins1501 3 ปีที่แล้ว +89

      @@DrOfficedog what day was that? I'll look that up in my history books oh wait it's a lie.

  • @theofender5523
    @theofender5523 ปีที่แล้ว +39

    A fantastic summary of such a complicated problem. I was also dumbfounded by how accurate the structure of power is in everyone's life no matter what

  • @washcode9613
    @washcode9613 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    I watched the Cortex podcast video about this and I have to say I'm really glad you made this despite it being a harder one for you to make. It's one of my favorite videos of yours. This kind of structure to power is one of those things that's there and maybe apparent to a lot of people but seems like no one discusses directly but is important to

  • @thomasrobinson5679
    @thomasrobinson5679 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5918

    "The people only storm the palace when the soldiers let them.." That... aged well...

    • @ofrikirshen3071
      @ofrikirshen3071 2 ปีที่แล้ว +661

      @@ShiningTitan ur not a chad...

    • @blackgemstone801
      @blackgemstone801 2 ปีที่แล้ว +596

      @@ShiningTitan ah great. Someone comparing one jackass dying to the hundreds of unarmed people shot by police for peacefully marching.

    • @maximocaseres2526
      @maximocaseres2526 2 ปีที่แล้ว +44

      So, what happened now?
      I dont watch news very often.

    • @Marcos42563
      @Marcos42563 2 ปีที่แล้ว +353

      @@maximocaseres2526 Probably in reference to the capitol building thing that happened in the states at the start of the year.

    • @VenikHue
      @VenikHue 2 ปีที่แล้ว +115

      I think he meant that the people storming a palace and succeeding only happens if the soldiers let them.

  • @MachineMan-mj4gj
    @MachineMan-mj4gj 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6287

    This isn’t dark, it’s just honest.

    • @treeamble585
      @treeamble585 2 ปีที่แล้ว +350

      The two aren't opposites, it can be honest and dark at the same time

    • @HeidenLam
      @HeidenLam 2 ปีที่แล้ว +151

      Being honest is dark, we live in a society

    • @MachineMan-mj4gj
      @MachineMan-mj4gj 2 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      @@HeidenLam Go I'm so sick of this society around me.

    • @MachineMan-mj4gj
      @MachineMan-mj4gj 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @Je720 Republics fail because the people become lazy.

    • @stillwatersrundeep001
      @stillwatersrundeep001 2 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      It isn't the whole truth. It's being relentlessly cynical for the sake of crafting a simple theoretical model, but it isn't backed up by a large chunk of history. The transition from dictatorships to democracies, for example.

  • @lordsiomai
    @lordsiomai ปีที่แล้ว +26

    This is so well made. It touches on so many topics without being drowned in so much detail about single one of them

  • @bluehatbrit
    @bluehatbrit 2 ปีที่แล้ว +31

    Don't mind me, just re-watching to refresh my memory due to current events.

  • @smalltiny
    @smalltiny 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2497

    1. Measure in cm and inches
    2. Be transparent.
    3. Be portable and safe to use

    • @kcechoxzar
      @kcechoxzar 7 ปีที่แล้ว +201

      then: 1. Measure in bananas

    • @fattshea6312
      @fattshea6312 7 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Top meme m9

    • @sundude800
      @sundude800 7 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      WHY ISN'T THIS TOP COMMENT!!!!!1!!111!11!!!!!!!

    • @Infernape7890
      @Infernape7890 7 ปีที่แล้ว

      Beautiful!

    • @kalvincastro9042
      @kalvincastro9042 7 ปีที่แล้ว +53

      Discriminating against wooden and metal rulers :(

  • @some1337dude1
    @some1337dude1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2061

    This feels like a tyrant who's been overthrown giving advice and turn-over to the rebel commander.

    • @tlhm7102
      @tlhm7102 2 ปีที่แล้ว +216

      ESPECIALLY the ending bit
      "Better you on the throne than someone else...Then maybe you'll be different *fades into literal obscurity*."
      it seems so much like something out of a book or something

    • @edwinhuang9244
      @edwinhuang9244 ปีที่แล้ว +81

      @@tlhm7102 You forgot the "ruler's hat morphs into dictator's hat"

    • @element1192
      @element1192 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      Or rather, his son, as in the case of Prince Souphanouvong

    • @_ee75
      @_ee75 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      @@tlhm7102 that's why we love grey, he can be so ominous and mysterious at times

    • @medical-cyanide1526
      @medical-cyanide1526 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Definitely feels like a story, as others have suggested maybe a king to his son, a dictator to his child, the glorious leader to his son.

  • @cattoleonce4066
    @cattoleonce4066 2 ปีที่แล้ว +53

    that one dictator that spent everything on the citizens until he got killed by the military leader : 👁👄👁

  • @beneditobraz7179
    @beneditobraz7179 ปีที่แล้ว +49

    This is probably the best overview of basic politics video ever made. Excelent work.

  • @AtrumDelorox
    @AtrumDelorox 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2155

    I know it's suppose to be educational, but this felt dark as fuck. Soul crushingly hopeless.
    Yet some part of me liked it.

    • @SolarScion
      @SolarScion 7 ปีที่แล้ว +143

      Indeed. None of these systems work at scale to allow for a fair society. Once a system becomes large enough that any one person is not accountable to any other, the power structure begins to supersede humanity.

    • @farmerboy916
      @farmerboy916 7 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      Which is why you simply eliminate non-voluntary power structures.

    • @512TheWolf512
      @512TheWolf512 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      that's a simple confirmationof the statement, that whoever has the power has anything

    • @esbenandersen5706
      @esbenandersen5706 7 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Americapox and The Trouble with Transporters were very much in the same tone. It's very different, if you compare to say, the Zebra vs Horses video (Which came after Americapox, IIRC, and on a related note) or even his Why the UK Elections were the Worst in History (Also on a fairly depressing subject). I don't know why, but it seems Mr. Grey is trying (And achieving) vastly different moods with educational videos.
      Like you, I like the variety... but I also like H.P. Lovecrafts work on the abject insignificance of humanity, and how all our dreams will eventually be wrought to naught by a being so far beyond our understanding that it's not even monstrous; it just never realised we were there to be ruined.

    • @autolykos9822
      @autolykos9822 7 ปีที่แล้ว +90

      Yup. The saddest part is that there is no evil conspiracy. It's simply a result of game theory (i.e. mathematics), and just as unavoidable as water flowing downhill. And it's not just in politics - coordination problems are almost always the reason we can't have nice things.
      A (very long, slightly rambly) article that discusses this kind of problem in more detail would be Scott Alexander's "Meditations on Moloch":
      slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/
      TL;DR: Almost no one is evil. Almost everything is broken.

  • @ReliquaryPrime
    @ReliquaryPrime 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1897

    Well, THAT was depressing...

    • @woofiegoofie
      @woofiegoofie 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @Matthew Morycinski you cannot use the word compromise in Dictatorship system.

    • @wtfbros5110
      @wtfbros5110 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@woofiegoofie tell that to Beria

    • @woofiegoofie
      @woofiegoofie 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@wtfbros5110 At first I don't know him but ugh he's awful.

    • @wtfbros5110
      @wtfbros5110 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@woofiegoofieyeah he's almost as bad as Himmler, which is ironic since he wants detente with the west and a united neutral germany

    • @elitemook4234
      @elitemook4234 3 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      It get's worse. What happens when human labor is made obsolete by AI and robots? The elites purge the plebs to protect their position of power in accrodence with the second law.

  • @schrodingersdad6077
    @schrodingersdad6077 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    15 years of spending time on this website and this video just so happens to take the top spot on my favourite videos.

  • @ceucanis
    @ceucanis ปีที่แล้ว +38

    Wow, just read some of the Prince for a class and am realizing how alike these ideas are. Machiavelli

    • @nutyyyy
      @nutyyyy ปีที่แล้ว +6

      It's almost as if Machiavelli understood these principles. Admittedly, in a different time to our but the basic principles of power remain the same.

  • @PhysiOSQuantum
    @PhysiOSQuantum 7 ปีที่แล้ว +4177

    Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made. - Otto Von Bismark

    • @Fuchsia_tude
      @Fuchsia_tude 6 ปีที่แล้ว +394

      He didn't say that, but it's better not to see quote attributions being made.

    • @gayvideos3808
      @gayvideos3808 6 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Fuchsia 'tude Who didn't what?

    • @Fuchsia_tude
      @Fuchsia_tude 6 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      say that thing POSQ said he did

    • @chrisschoenthaler5184
      @chrisschoenthaler5184 6 ปีที่แล้ว +34

      Fuchsia 'tude Good to see you giving legitimate backing for what you say. However, while the quote did not originate with Bismarck, that does not mean he never said it. It is entirely plausible that Bismarck used an obscure older quote, and people who had never heard it before just assumed he said it first. You should probably edit your original comment.

    • @takref1
      @takref1 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      PhysiOSQuantum I

  • @13lackout360
    @13lackout360 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5160

    This gets scarier when you consider the rise of automation. Our democracy is fueled by the productivity of our citizens, but what if the citizens are no longer needed?

    • @ypsawbones3646
      @ypsawbones3646 2 ปีที่แล้ว +719

      Well better you on the throne than someone else

    • @animax2422
      @animax2422 2 ปีที่แล้ว +902

      Companies are still productive automated or not, and they still need the citizens to buy their products. If the citizens still have power (money) being productive in other areas, they still fuel democracy.

    • @cakeisyummy5755
      @cakeisyummy5755 2 ปีที่แล้ว +78

      Anarchism.

    • @user-rl3zw8mg2p
      @user-rl3zw8mg2p 2 ปีที่แล้ว +82

      By that time citizens are nolonger citizens anymore, we are about going enter a world exactly like cyber-punk2077. Try join those big tech Corps, or killed by gangsters and die on the streets.

    • @octavianjoseph8633
      @octavianjoseph8633 2 ปีที่แล้ว +93

      Well, then, common citizens get to live their lives without the looming anxieties of needing to subject yourself to long work weeks because you feel you aren't doing enough. (It really is not as healthy as you think it is.)
      Maybe developing hobbies, they can then develop into a career they actually enjoy, they can potentially earn money from. People aren't lazy, they just don't want to work for big bad corporations.
      And everything else such as making products will probably be taking care of by automation.

  • @Rfc1394
    @Rfc1394 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    I think it was Ambrose Bierce who said, "An absolute ruler is onw who rules as he pleases so long as he pleases the assasins."

  • @boyankovachev7982
    @boyankovachev7982 ปีที่แล้ว +39

    Thank you, CGP and [redacted] for all the help with the coup in [redacted]. It made everything very easy.
    One love ❤️

    • @thearchitect646
      @thearchitect646 ปีที่แล้ว

      oh yeah, that coop. I gave them like 10 bucks

  • @randomstuffc.j.o1408
    @randomstuffc.j.o1408 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6218

    In the future
    Dictator : I would like to thank this youtube channel called cgp Grey for teaching me how to win power
    Edit: Wow 6k likes.... I'm famous, also thank you to Rise of Kingdoms for teaching me very important things about military doctrine such as a 5% buff at attack for [insert civilization here] which helped me in my conquests

    • @Hell_O7
      @Hell_O7 3 ปีที่แล้ว +611

      CGP Grey: *gets promoted under them*
      Just as planned.....

    • @muhammedmansoor3406
      @muhammedmansoor3406 3 ปีที่แล้ว +322

      @@Hell_O7 you see this goes against the cgp video . They might hepl them take power but are no longer necessary so no reward and they go to gulag beacuse they are no longer useful to the dictator

    • @ltpetrenko
      @ltpetrenko 3 ปีที่แล้ว +156

      @@muhammedmansoor3406 This is just a preview of a full online dictator course.

    • @magatism
      @magatism 3 ปีที่แล้ว +41

      This is probably the Key he will remove.

    • @kevinslattery5748
      @kevinslattery5748 3 ปีที่แล้ว +31

      I would like to thank CGP Grey for teaching me how to win power.

  • @basilisk5855
    @basilisk5855 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1854

    There are only two constants I see here:
    Death and taxes

    • @UrWifiIsSlow
      @UrWifiIsSlow 4 ปีที่แล้ว +35

      Monaco joined the chat

    • @nurlindafsihotang49
      @nurlindafsihotang49 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      😂😂😂

    • @TheSkullConfernece
      @TheSkullConfernece 4 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      Taxes are not constant. They're not a guarantee if we realize the illegitimacy of them and the opportunity of voluntary cooperation.

    • @goldengaruda8935
      @goldengaruda8935 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Taxes exist only so long as people, death as long as there is life

    • @Mernom
      @Mernom 4 ปีที่แล้ว +49

      @@TheSkullConfernece voluntary cooperation... Among humans... So, never right?

  • @shadowbonnie2763
    @shadowbonnie2763 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +14

    I didn't see the thumbnail, so I thought this was a video about the requirements to make a measuring ruler.

  • @ethribin4188
    @ethribin4188 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    The best video on your channel.
    And the most eye opening video about politics, leaders, dilomats, rulers and ruling systems.
    This video should be in every school room

  • @ammarmerani8346
    @ammarmerani8346 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4633

    "You can't eliminate those who don't vote for you."
    *Laughs in Stalin*

    • @ibuilder1175
      @ibuilder1175 4 ปีที่แล้ว +250

      *laughs in communism*

    • @ibuilder1175
      @ibuilder1175 4 ปีที่แล้ว +262

      *laughs in clinton*

    • @macaroon_nuggets8008
      @macaroon_nuggets8008 4 ปีที่แล้ว +159

      @@ibuilder1175 NO!! DONT DO THAT!!! YOUR GONNA START AN ARGUMENT!

    • @ibuilder1175
      @ibuilder1175 4 ปีที่แล้ว +122

      @@macaroon_nuggets8008 I had to do it

    • @neonicplays
      @neonicplays 4 ปีที่แล้ว +111

      Isaac Roland *laughs in parenthood*

  • @khaliqdavidson2867
    @khaliqdavidson2867 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3649

    Rule 0 gives me chills. "Without power you can affect nothing"

    • @evannibbe9375
      @evannibbe9375 2 ปีที่แล้ว +151

      It lead me on the rabbit hole to pursue magic.

    • @Deepak-cu1mr
      @Deepak-cu1mr 2 ปีที่แล้ว +178

      Rule infinity.... With great power comes the great responsibility

    • @Cybernaut551
      @Cybernaut551 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@Deepak-cu1mr Facts.

    • @minorcomet282
      @minorcomet282 2 ปีที่แล้ว +89

      Rule 34: don't ask

    • @Georges_IV
      @Georges_IV 2 ปีที่แล้ว +89

      @@Deepak-cu1mr with great power comes a great power bill

  • @adamrodaway9116
    @adamrodaway9116 2 ปีที่แล้ว +106

    Rule 5. When you’ve spent all the treasure and the people start getting restive, start a war. Either on an internal group (Jews, Kulaks….etc.) or a neighbour (Poland, Falklands, Ukraine…)

  • @90youngjulia
    @90youngjulia ปีที่แล้ว +3

    This is amazing. Some parts gave me chills? Thank you for explaining this concept so succinctly.

  • @NachoTaco112
    @NachoTaco112 3 ปีที่แล้ว +792

    Instructions unclear, accidentally reuinited the Russian Empire and became the Tsar

  • @0subscribers984
    @0subscribers984 7 ปีที่แล้ว +939

    *Interveiwer:* So, how'd you start your county?
    *Me:* It was on my TH-cam recommendations.

    • @techhelpportal7778
      @techhelpportal7778 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      1000 Subscribers With No Content huh

    • @Digo-eu
      @Digo-eu 7 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      I had to subscribe to you, for some reason

    • @amnksk
      @amnksk 7 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      subscribed

    • @leodeciofilho4946
      @leodeciofilho4946 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Subscribed!

    • @thomaskaldahl196
      @thomaskaldahl196 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      subscribed

  • @diver2791
    @diver2791 ปีที่แล้ว +32

    Not all revolts/revolutions are secretly backed by the military or other keys though.
    Sometimes it just so happens that all major power institutions (and numerous rulers and keys behind them) are weakened by natural disasters, foreign invasions or some severe economic crisis.
    Sometimes it just comes to the point that a new institution can emerge unopposed and semi-independently from the power vacuum and start a proper civil war.

  • @Unknown_Ooh
    @Unknown_Ooh ปีที่แล้ว +67

    A fun game I'd recommend is called Reigns (Android & IOS) and it's a swipe left or swipe right type of game and you are a ruler and have to keep balance of the elite, military and the citizens and if you get too low you can be overthrown or other things can happen. It's not a serious game but it's an easy way to pass time.

    • @skorp5677
      @skorp5677 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yep, it's amazing :)

  •  7 ปีที่แล้ว +1893

    is this a tropico play guide?

  • @dimix2199
    @dimix2199 7 ปีที่แล้ว +3173

    this is an amazing video, but also depressing tbh

    • @dimix2199
      @dimix2199 7 ปีที่แล้ว +71

      i wish there was a way to break this system

    • @rronaldreagan
      @rronaldreagan 7 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      its really not, the obejctive is to taint every politician as corrupt and promote this immoral behaviour as something to be happily accepted by the citizens (the slaves in CPG greys mind).
      Nihilistic BS with the same mantra of moral relativism. Dont fall for it, its as fallacious as his video on why indians were primitive and underdeveloped, while europeans were almost so advance as to be considered from a different planet

    • @GryphonSkull
      @GryphonSkull 7 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      power dynamics may change in the future - technology is advancing exponentially and soon a lot of the productivity or lifestyle of the people will be dependent (or simply drastically changed) by those advances (e.g. a computer some decades ago cost a fortune - now you can get an outdated, but still new and amazing laptop (with internet -> education) for less than 100€. the same with cows -> modern farming equipment or inefficient miners -> mining machines etc)
      ...although of course it could backfire horribly; revolutionary people in a democracy might stop being afraid to change the system and to take money from the people since the productivity + treasure aren't dependent on those humans anymore, thus resulting in democracy dieing out and being replaced by dictatorships only ;D

    • @fenrirgg
      @fenrirgg 7 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      Maybe when there's super abundance of resources of knowledge and things then all this game of thrones garbage can be abolished, but it's not the case, sadly. The leader is always there because he supports main keys.

    • @PyroManSir
      @PyroManSir 7 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      You want to change the system? Change the main componant of the system, the people. But go change the people so that they're so enlightened they can always not think for themselves first.

  • @Marjenk77
    @Marjenk77 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    The keys to power can be applied to pretty much everything. I watched this video 5yrs ago and ever since I saw it, I'm always looking for the HMFIC's keys. Thanks for the eye opener.

  • @lifeisgood420365
    @lifeisgood420365 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    Just by putting little images of keys by these people, made me understand all of this a lot easier (great video!)

  • @petersmythe6462
    @petersmythe6462 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2287

    "You can't eliminate those who don't vote for you."
    *Challenge Accepted*

    • @leannemo7382
      @leannemo7382 4 ปีที่แล้ว +85

      Hillary, is that you? ;)

    • @cult_of_odin
      @cult_of_odin 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @AJ Kelly dude you have a lot to learn about reading comprehension since I was agreeing with you.

    • @dorkmax7073
      @dorkmax7073 4 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Cough cough voter ID laws cough cough

    • @Mr.Havoc4212
      @Mr.Havoc4212 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Good luck

    • @JessSimpson1313
      @JessSimpson1313 4 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      @AJ Kelly nothing like some casual anti-Semitism in TH-cam comments amirite?

  • @mr._seal1103
    @mr._seal1103 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1007

    when you realize there are no such things as corrupt politicians, but they are just politicians

    • @Alexaflohr
      @Alexaflohr 7 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Makes you think, doesn't it?

    • @troychavez
      @troychavez 7 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Open to question, but it is a fair point... :/

    • @Sammysapphira
      @Sammysapphira 7 ปีที่แล้ว +46

      That's not even remotely true at all.

    • @Ianx50
      @Ianx50 7 ปีที่แล้ว +153

      +benblue3
      You're right, there are non-corrupt politicians. They just don't stick around for very long because of the points presented here.

    • @DarkSTKx
      @DarkSTKx 7 ปีที่แล้ว

      benblue3 what's not remotely true?

  • @sagadoom2
    @sagadoom2 ปีที่แล้ว +43

    This video is one of the few things I can clearly say changed how I looked at the world. I ended up reading the book as well and I have never looked at politics in any regime the same way again, even years later. Great video

    • @pepperpoop7729
      @pepperpoop7729 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Which book ?

    • @sagadoom2
      @sagadoom2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@pepperpoop7729 In the video description "The Dictators Handbook"

  • @jorgeloubetcasas
    @jorgeloubetcasas 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I honestly believe this is the best video in TH-cam. I come and watch it every once in a while when I see something happening in the world.

  • @NathanS__
    @NathanS__ 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3619

    A perfect example and warning is Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. He was a magnificent ruler who industrialized and educated Brazil, raised the quality of life for the whole nation in a nice long reign.
    But ultimately was overthrown by industrialists and other elites because he didn't reward them enough.
    His extreme popularity with the people wasn't enough, he lost the Keys.
    He probably could have regained the Crown through civil war but he was exhausted after a long, laborious reign.

    • @vaclavjebavy5118
      @vaclavjebavy5118 2 ปีที่แล้ว +399

      He said he didn't want to spill Brazilian blood. It likely would have succeeded quickly.

    • @usetheexplosives
      @usetheexplosives 2 ปีที่แล้ว +172

      All I hear in your comment is that they successfully ruled for a long time before they were deposed.
      I think it's that, and other examples, that water down what this video is teaching to an extent.
      You can rule, and you can make great benevolent change. It means you won't rule forever, but is that actually what you want?
      If you simply want to enact particular change, enact it, and retire.

    • @alzhanvoidsansado
      @alzhanvoidsansado 2 ปีที่แล้ว +299

      @@usetheexplosives But when you leave, what's to stop the next from changing it back? You have to rule for long enough for your citizens to get used to the change, where its absence will be noticed enough to risk great protest/revolution. If you enact a change and leave before it settles, the next ruler won't have any trouble modifying it to fit his needs. And until then... well, you have to survive somehow right? Keep your keys happy.

    • @stansman5461
      @stansman5461 2 ปีที่แล้ว +83

      @@usetheexplosives You're right that the rules for these are to stay in power, but remember a coup means the keys were promised more. And since the vault hasn't increased, the treasure which was being spent on the citizens is now going to go to the keys.
      Hence, even when you make positive change, it's going to suffer if you're overthrown by someone via a coup (since a dictator has less keys)

    • @josevitorag
      @josevitorag 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Sim mano, aí foi ladeira à baixo

  • @Chyrosran22
    @Chyrosran22 3 ปีที่แล้ว +19191

    Still your best video to date.

    • @frantiseknovotny9315
      @frantiseknovotny9315 3 ปีที่แล้ว +633

      Yes. After years of political science classes, and watching this for like the tenth time, I still find myself astonished with the clarity of the analysis.

    • @Lavi-Aemilia-Astori
      @Lavi-Aemilia-Astori 3 ปีที่แล้ว +45

      Time to clean my alps switches

    • @ahoymateeez
      @ahoymateeez 3 ปีที่แล้ว +66

      Pretty much shows how the world works.

    • @MrSirKirby
      @MrSirKirby 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Indeed!

    • @julolidine
      @julolidine 3 ปีที่แล้ว +93

      I still come back to this, and has really altered my perception about the problems in government and how insurmountable some of them are.

  • @iraqigeek8363
    @iraqigeek8363 2 ปีที่แล้ว +44

    The current events in Ukraine and the swath of sanctions imposed by the west on Russia reminded me of this video and of The Dictator's Handbook

  • @StealthCaceF
    @StealthCaceF ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Hi, do you give permission for a non profit fan dub to other languages?

  • @kingofmilfgaard7604
    @kingofmilfgaard7604 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1491

    "And Angels who build good works will always lose to Devils who don't"
    Damn bro..

    • @kolkoki
      @kolkoki 3 ปีที่แล้ว +97

      Because there will always be an asshole who wants money for himself and not the greater good. Someone who value individual over society. Kinda like anti-masks "i dont care if i kill people by not wearing a mask, MY comfort is more important than THEIR lives ! "

    • @alfredorotondo
      @alfredorotondo 3 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      @@kolkoki *pinochet noises*

    • @kolkoki
      @kolkoki 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@alfredorotondo I am sorry as i do not know enough about him to understand what you are meaning

    • @graveyardshift6691
      @graveyardshift6691 3 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      @@kolkoki As you are reading this comment, you are inhaling god only knows how many different viruses, bacteria, germs, infections, and god knows what else. Perhaps you are even inhaling Covid-19 right this very second.
      While most of these are fairly harmless and in certain cases even beneficial, your body is under attack 24/7. The only way for you to stop these attacks outright is to live in a completely sealed and scrubbed environment. The masks being forced on everyone at large to 'protect the citizens' don't even qualify as such.
      Biological sciences have proven that your immune system is very much like your muscles. If you fail to exercise them properly and also allow them adequate rest at times, they will fail you. The consequence of such failure of an immune system is your death.
      Living in a 'clean' environment is just as deadly as living in filth. If you live in filth, your immune system is overtaxed and cannot keep up. If you live in a 'clean' environment, your immune system will atrophy and when the time comes, it will fail you.
      Masks do nothing to help this process. At most they will help contain/prevent the spread depending on the state of the person on them. To a healthy person, they will contain nothing and they will prevent the immune system from learning how to fight an infection. Masks kill healthy populations. However the result is far different for those who are at-risk as it prevents a full on outbreak that a weakened immune system can't handle right away and contains those who ARE sick.
      Your best defense against disease is your own build in biological defenses. If that fails, medicines are designed to bolster or otherwise assist this process until your body can adapt. Those that fail die. That's life. You can't save everyone. We are well beyond the point where masks do anybody good and it's time to let biology take over. Help those who are at-risk but at this point, it's up to those murder death machines the White Blood Cells.

    • @TheRealColBosch
      @TheRealColBosch 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      @@graveyardshift6691 I've got something you can breathe, asshole.

  • @AmrSaleh
    @AmrSaleh 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2702

    I have lived through 2 Military Coups, 2 Revolutions and 1 democracy. After watching this video, now IT ALL MAKES SENSE..

    • @YungBoiEscobar
      @YungBoiEscobar 4 ปีที่แล้ว +62

      Where do you live big fella

    • @antonyandrewson5803
      @antonyandrewson5803 4 ปีที่แล้ว +364

      egypt im guessing?

    • @AmrSaleh
      @AmrSaleh 4 ปีที่แล้ว +573

      Egypt yeah

    • @antonyandrewson5803
      @antonyandrewson5803 4 ปีที่แล้ว +119

      things getting better?

    • @ROTALOT
      @ROTALOT 4 ปีที่แล้ว +131

      @@antonyandrewson5803 apparently not :(

  • @slothbelly5332
    @slothbelly5332 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    this video is 6 years old.
    i only saw it in recent years, and so many things have begun to make sense.

  • @kiraschabram9745
    @kiraschabram9745 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Absolutely brilliant video. I intend to share this with my students

  • @CarlosRios1
    @CarlosRios1 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1444

    I thought that Rule 0 was: "Keep the army happy.""

    • @techdroid2000
      @techdroid2000 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Carlos Rios Military Industrial Complex, always worth learning about.

    • @512TheWolf512
      @512TheWolf512 7 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      that's the main rule - have the power

    • @omegasrevenge
      @omegasrevenge 7 ปีที่แล้ว +107

      The army is merely another Key supporter. A very important one, sure, but nothing more.

    • @512TheWolf512
      @512TheWolf512 7 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      abschussrampe
      no, it is the key key supporter

    • @carsonchiu6069
      @carsonchiu6069 7 ปีที่แล้ว +31

      can't pay the army without the bureaucrats

  • @nsk370
    @nsk370 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1611

    This video is, to this day, one of the best videos ever made. Brilliant and eye-opening.

    • @alizo3
      @alizo3 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Ns K so true!

    • @kethmarhkfy7luf.263
      @kethmarhkfy7luf.263 5 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      Indeed, this is a true work of art

    • @chipskylark5500
      @chipskylark5500 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Fucking fantastic video. This is what TH-cam was made for

    • @holisticpsychologybyobrien
      @holisticpsychologybyobrien 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      You know it, buddy. Go watch House of Cards.

    • @obradinn7491
      @obradinn7491 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      It's not as all-encompassing as he makes it out to be. The French Revolution was a glorious clusterfuck because it failed to consolidate power effectively. The army wasn't ineffectual at stopping the revolution and the deposition of King Louis because the powerful deemed it so. The powerful simply didn't have the raw "treasure" to sustain their society. So those suffering under the society crushed it.
      From it rose a messed up idealistic hodge-podge of conflicting narratives that resulted in so much death, despair and destruction that the events of it are being felt today in 2019.
      Although this theory does predict one thing though; the rise of Napoleon Boneparte who would be the man who formulated modern France.

  • @VoidExileYT
    @VoidExileYT ปีที่แล้ว +11

    well this was scarily enlightening... at the end of the day, democracies are amazing while dictatorships are terrible but everything in between are doomed to fail. Really puts things into a complicated perspective

  • @EnCroissant
    @EnCroissant ปีที่แล้ว +4

    These videos are like listening to poems, and I love it

  • @alexia3552
    @alexia3552 2 ปีที่แล้ว +728

    "Maybe, you'll be different" As the hat morphs to a dictator's hat.. message well sent

    • @williamfarley3794
      @williamfarley3794 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      I always get a little chill at that part

    • @jeremyjackson8862
      @jeremyjackson8862 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      And the cycle continues.

    • @georgeevans9044
      @georgeevans9044 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      One of my favorite moments in the video

    • @chee.rah.monurB
      @chee.rah.monurB ปีที่แล้ว

      @@jeremyjackson8862 Right,because every revolunionary says that to themselves. Remember when Lenin wanted to be better than those "capitalist pigs" but ended up creating the TROPE CODIFIER for dictatorships?

  • @lred1383
    @lred1383 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5396

    As a Russian, this was very educational. The "Democracy that relies on natural resources" model was scarily accurate in every aspect of it. What this means is that Russia is too rich to be rich, you know? Because there's so much oil, diamonds and metals here the government will never care about us as much as we would prefer it to. We'll always stay on the lowest living standards that a democracy can keep without breaking.

    • @8panthermodern2
      @8panthermodern2 4 ปีที่แล้ว +260

      Are you referring to Russia as a democracy?

    • @lred1383
      @lred1383 4 ปีที่แล้ว +880

      @@8panthermodern2 It is. It's not a flawless one, in fact it is pretty corrupt, but it is a democracy. Regional leaders are actually elected, and i suspect that there is actually a lot of support for the current ruling party among the people, considering they've pulled the country out of a horrible crisis back in the day.

    • @happyfacefries
      @happyfacefries 4 ปีที่แล้ว +304

      Hate to break it to you, but you're under a dictatorship, not a democracy.

    • @happyfacefries
      @happyfacefries 4 ปีที่แล้ว +117

      @i hate anime I guess you don't know what a dictatorship is

    • @harrisonbarrett2635
      @harrisonbarrett2635 4 ปีที่แล้ว +48

      @i hate anime if you think that you can easily say that we all live under a democracy

  • @lostzwolf7269
    @lostzwolf7269 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    this video is one of the most important i have ever seen. i do not know why no person ever could explain this to me this clearly. thank you for that.

  • @will_hunt
    @will_hunt ปีที่แล้ว +1

    One of the best videos ever made. Great work on it and thanks for sharing

  • @a2rhombus2
    @a2rhombus2 7 ปีที่แล้ว +7863

    Gotta love a good depressing video to destroy my faith in our political system first thing in the morning

    • @delpher32exe
      @delpher32exe 7 ปีที่แล้ว +220

      our you mean on this fucking planet?

    • @a2rhombus2
      @a2rhombus2 7 ปีที่แล้ว +338

      delpher32exe
      Our as a general umbrella term for the human race so yes

    • @Zazer99541
      @Zazer99541 7 ปีที่แล้ว +68

      There are exceptions to this like the 1945 labour government in britain which never got in off the backs of rich people but instead from the people.

    • @danielsjohnson
      @danielsjohnson 7 ปีที่แล้ว +60

      Alex A another exception is the state of Colorado legalized marijuana through referendum and legally bypassed the state congress that was against it at the time. Sometimes a lot of common folk getting together can make a difference ;)

    • @rafaelpun
      @rafaelpun 7 ปีที่แล้ว +204

      But legalizing marijuana increase the (tax) treasury that allows them to do projects and build stuff that makes key supporters happy.

  • @tendergnat
    @tendergnat 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6291

    "Corruption is not some kind of petty crime"
    Me who lives in Brazil: True, its a kind of big crime that ruined my entire country

    • @horpuscorpus8299
      @horpuscorpus8299 2 ปีที่แล้ว +173

      as is the main attraction

    • @icyify2406
      @icyify2406 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      corruption is simply a tool to keep power

    • @ironcito1101
      @ironcito1101 ปีที่แล้ว +495

      Pfft! You guys are amateurs at corruption.
      Regards,
      Argentina

    • @javieralejandrotrianapaz6343
      @javieralejandrotrianapaz6343 ปีที่แล้ว +402

      @@ironcito1101 Venezuela: pathetic

    • @samilkafa3763
      @samilkafa3763 ปีที่แล้ว +235

      Hey there! We're also amateurs but we'll soon be there with you. Greetings from Turkey.

  • @flaviospadavecchia5126
    @flaviospadavecchia5126 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Just finished the book this video is based off of and I highly recommend it! Wish Grey would make more videos on foreign aid and other themes touched by the book :)

  • @liaml.e.5964
    @liaml.e.5964 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    The fun thing about all these is that people still believe that, just for being in the 21st century we are beyond all those medieval tactics.... when in fact things have never truly changed, they have only gotten more convoluted.

  • @alrick3000
    @alrick3000 4 ปีที่แล้ว +453

    Having read the book on which this is based, I must say that this video, in terms of clarity of information, far exceeds the actual text. The way the information is presented here is truly remarkable since it was able to extract the most meaningful ideas from the text and was able to clarify certain ambiguities in the book. Great job CGP Grey

    • @cr0n0slxiii54
      @cr0n0slxiii54 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Which book? 48 rules of power perhaps?

    • @sdriggers2
      @sdriggers2 4 ปีที่แล้ว +30

      @@cr0n0slxiii54 Almost certainly the "Dictators Handbook" by Bueno de Mesquita et al. It's academic.

    • @cautarepvp2079
      @cautarepvp2079 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      so what was the book?

    • @alrick3000
      @alrick3000 4 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      sdriggers2 is correct. The Dictators Handbook by Bueno de Mesquita. An Amazon link to the book is in the video description.

  • @frankdelgrosso8297
    @frankdelgrosso8297 7 ปีที่แล้ว +253

    “but surely you on the throne will be better than someone else; and who knows maybe you will be different” (image changes from benevolent representative to dictator who winks at you). Awesome ending couldn’t have been more perfect.

    • @mm-if8mq
      @mm-if8mq 7 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Frank Delgrosso totally true!!!

    • @nurlindafsihotang49
      @nurlindafsihotang49 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      "To know what is man true nature, dont see him in his suffering. See him when he holds power"- Abraham Lincoln

  • @nicholaslogan6840
    @nicholaslogan6840 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Thank you so much for making this video. It served as a starting point for me a long time ago to seek to enrich my perspective by watching educational videos about government and history.

  • @GreyLightning
    @GreyLightning ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Instructions unclear accidentally became a pirate captain