Strongmen Manipulate

June 17, 2020 Sociocultural Issues No Comments

A strongman is strong because others are weaker. A leader is strong because others are strong. An Open Leader has Inner Strength.

The opposite of an Open Leader.

A manipulator is never a leader. A leader does not need to manipulate. Instead, he leads.

A ‘strongman’ – what’s in a name – usually sees himself as a leader, which is to him the person who has the most influence through whatever means available. He derives much of his power from coercing others.

A strongman wants to be stronger than others, no matter what.

If the others are weak – weaker than he – his goal is attained.

Contrary to this, an Open Leader wants to make others as strong as possible. That is not the easiest way. It is not in the least a way in which a strongman could survive.

But a strongman is not even bothered by such. He is not bothered by deep morality. Using any means, the easiest and most superficial way leads to manipulation. Therefore, it is his niche, his approach to personal success.

A strongman doesn’t motivate people. He searches for the push and pull-buttons that he can use. One that mostly works is to divide his opponents.

But everybody is his opponent: the so-called enemy, but likewise his followers. He needs continuously to ensure their weakness lest they start opposing him. Thus he divides followers into those who are privileged or not, speaking of ‘loyalty.’

So-called loyalty

is one path. Loyal people get advantages. Whoever is not loyal gets ousted.

But this is loyalty to power and mere-ego, not to inner strength and wholeness. Not making a distinction (individually and culturally) between mere-ego and total person indeed makes people vulnerable to the manipulation of strongmen. This is how democracy can glide into autocracy.

A strongman is usually a strawman

In the weakness of his ego, he himself is prone to be manipulated by others who wield their power – based on money, for instance – through him. For them, the ideal strongman is one who has no insight into this. The more he believes he is really the ‘strong one,’ the more he can be manipulated.

The sustainable answer to a strongman is the inner strength of many men (and women).

A revolution usually turns upon itself, with a high risk that another strongman will emerge quite readily. A sustainable democracy thrives on the strength of many. In such a milieu, strongmen don’t appear in the first place.

The followers

don’t like the idea of being manipulated. Nobody wants that, of course. So, one may have a difficult time trying to convince them they are. Their proneness to being manipulated makes the strongman. It goes together.

Meanwhile, the latter tries to immunize himself against such a critique, at least in public. For instance, any unwelcome message becomes ‘fake news.’ To the pointing out of his manipulations, he counter-attacks, trying to manipulate (again) into obedience.

The best way is to look for how the followers need support as total human beings. They want to be good people. Acknowledging that, one can approach them with a coaching attitude, by suggesting, not coercing.

The most important word is ‘real.’

One needs to really communicate with a strongman’s followers. One needs to really try to comprehend their real needs. One needs to really show that one is open to what are their real apprehensions.

The more they feel inside what they really want, the less they can be manipulated by anyone.

Bringing them there is the job of an Open Leader.

And that’s the best that can happen.