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Comment by fartcannon | Hacker News Reader

Is there a book written by a soldier that explains why people defend/enforce the power of evil people?

Putin himself is not poisoning these people, someone is doing it for him. Why?

Doesn't have to be from Russia. Any soldier defending any evil person - why?

Here's a YouTube video that summarizes the Dictator's Handbook. It gives an explanation about how the perspective of a dictator/autocrat is different than than someone who is in charge of a democratic organization. Basically, the fewer people you have to answer to, the more you need to reward those few followers by stealing from everyone else. This forms a pyramid scheme where everyone is trying to take as much as they can so they can then redistribute the spoils to their key supporters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs

I can't point you to a book written by a soldier, but you might be able to find some conclusions by reading "The Authoritarians" by Bob Altemeyer[0], which studies, as you say, why people defend/enforce the power of evil people.

[0] https://www.theauthoritarians.org/options-for-getting-the-bo...

I'm either guilty of having this mindset myself and unaware of it, or I'm unable to empathise with this mindset. But this link is approximately what I was looking for. Thank you.

I would like to find an introspective writer who is also an authoritarian.

This Atlantic article [0] goes in to that subject a bit. It is less focused on "why do people defend/enforce the power of evil people?" and more on comparing people who collaborate vs those who do not. But still a good read.

[0] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/07/trumps-...

Christopher Browning's Ordinary Men is about a specific unit of German special police used to round up and massacre Jews. It's been 15+ years since I read it, but I think the conclusion was these otherwise ordinary men (not ardent Nazis) followed orders because of a mix of peer-pressure and obedience to authority.

It's probably as simple as that.

I'll read that, thank you.

Money? I'm sure the people needed to keep that whole show going are getting paid quite well.

It's usually extensive training and ideology. It makes money an irrelevant or a secondary goal.

Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?

reference: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/08/opinion/meddlesome-priest...

Nb: I was referencing Becket, not Comey lol

Well, this question is similar to foreigners cannot understand how any Americans can support racist/sexist/amoral Trump. For Putin’s supporters , his is the only person who can make Russia great

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