Who rules us? Governmental and other types of power pyramids and some peculiarities of their "construction."
More often than not, having the highest chance to win competition for power are those who are "good fighters," i.e. who boast such qualities as aggressiveness, vigor, perseverance, etc. Other factors that may contribute to one's success in climbing up a pyramid of power include connections with influential people or support of a political group. Incidentally, pursuing its interests, a group may choose to promote a weaker one who would be better controllable and more predictable. Other conditions being equal, the better chances to make it to the top belong to the one who employs a wider arsenal of methods, and, as it often happens, to the one who is not too scrupulous about ethics or even the law. Sometimes, those involved in political rivalry sink to overtly illegal activities, such as blatant lies, hoax, fraud, eavesdropping, etc. In effort to take the desired post, a candidate will not stop at giving promises which he has no intention of keeping.
Behavior of any human being, and those in power are no exception, is strongly influenced by natural instincts; the difference, however, is that those in power are less controllable and enjoy more freedoms. Power is like a narcotic drug: It creates the feeling of all-permissiveness and gives the opportunity to suppress critics. These negative trends acquire their ultimate forms in totalitarian or autocratic regimes. A certain role here is played by the propensity of a large part of the population to idolize those in power and blindly follow their calls and ideas however absurd they might be.
In democratic countries the main mechanisms designed to prevent unscrupulous people from coming to power include the freedom of information and media which are supposed to ensure openness and transparency of all candidates and their activities. However, even these mechanisms do not guarantee from distortion of facts and misinformation of broad public through targeted media campaigns and deft manipulation of consciousness. Public, en masse, is prone to believe demagogic speeches and promises. Moreover, due to being insufficiently well informed (or not well educated), people are generally unable to orient in politics. A common illusion is that the methods used for selecting state leaders ensure that coming to power are those who are wiser or, at least, skilled in the art of leading the country along a safe and progressive path.
It is well known that dictators are particularly brutal when it comes to hushing up unpleasant information about them, such as their mistakes, certain episodes of their biography, etc. In any state with any system of government, especially in an undemocratic or totalitarian state, or as a result of a coup or a putsch, a person might come to power who will be dangerous to his own people as well as to mankind as a whole. Potential danger also may come from changes in the leader's psyche with time. There are quite a few examples in history where illogical and irresponsible activities by the rulers led to wars, destruction and massive slaughter or both soldiers and civilians. Study of these problems and looking for methods that will help us prevent such grave consequences represents a field of search for psychiatrists and specialists in humanitarian technologies.
