What makes a person a tyrant

That a society must not be conceived as a single individual is a central feature of the methodological individualism used by economics to analyze society.

Somebody replied:. Have you ever asked some hungarians [sic] what they think of him? They adore him. Angela Merkel is one. The understanding missing here is that society is composed of individuals who are not necessarily unanimous and that a tyrant can be supported by a large part of the population. My correspondent also does not appear consistent when he adds that Angela Merkel is a tyrant, for surely some Germans adore her.

That a tyrant can be adored by some part of the population and even a large part is illustrated by tyrants of ancient Greece. Agathocles was the tyrant of Syracuse during a quarter of a century before his death in B. Another example was Gelon I, again in Syracuse, who was acclaimed tyrant by the demos in B. The crowd shouted their approval at each deed that he mentioned and were amazed that he had entrusted himself unarmed to anyone who might wish to kill him, so much so that they not only did not punish him for having taken the tyranny, but with one voice hailed him as their benefactor, savior, and king.

However, as I explained in a previous Econlog post , many factors have changed, including the technology of tyrannicide. If you define a tyrant as a person who oppresses part of the population, the oppressed part can be a minority or a majority. Not every tyrant is an Agathocles or a Gelon.

A tyrant is a tyrant because he uses political power to favor his supporters to the detriment of the oppressed. Such is the implicit bargain between the tyrant and his supporter.

That the tyrant is adored by his supporters is not surprising. Defining instead a tyrant as a person who governs arbitrarily and brutally brings us back to the first definition, because the smaller his supporting majority or minority, the more he will have to rely on lawlessness and violence to impose and maintain his rule. It seems to be a matter of definition and analytical convenience whether or not, or to which extent, the supporters of the tyrant are considered members of a collective tyrant—as in a tyranny of the majority or of a minority—or just supporters.

A tyrant brings some socal benefits—such as order, external protection, public monuments, and infrastructure—that, although serving his own selfish goals, do trickle down to those he oppresses. Mussolini made the trains run on time and, others would add, Hitler fought tobacco. In ancient Greece, the difference between a king and a tyrant was that the former was constrained by laws.

But certainly, laws can be tyrannical: just think of American slavery, which was protected by the Constitution. Everything is a matter of degree, and we should say that a ruler is a tyrant to the extent that he consistently favors a given part of the population against another, even if the law allows it.

Thus, recognizing a tyrant is not easy, especially before he has assumed full power. Middle English tyraunt , from Anglo-French tyran, tyrant , from Latin tyrannus , from Greek tyrannos.

See more words from the same century. Accessed 12 Nov. More Definitions for tyrant. See the full definition for tyrant in the English Language Learners Dictionary. Nglish: Translation of tyrant for Spanish Speakers. Britannica English: Translation of tyrant for Arabic Speakers. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Save Word. Definition of tyrant. Synonyms What makes someone a tyrant?

Example Sentences Learn More About tyrant. What makes someone a tyrant? If someone consciously or subconsciously lives by the phrase, "Do what I say, not what I do," then you are taking advice from the wrong individual.

People don't follow a leader because of what that leader preaches. They follow leaders who live and breathe the very example they expect to be upheld. After all, it's not the words that truly change people and their behavior, but the energy that comes with them.

And the only way for a leader's energy to truly have an impact on others is if it is being spoken with absolute conviction. The kind of conviction that is only possible if leaders are living what they're preaching. Keep your eyes peeled for the quiet employee who follows through with exactly what he or she said they were going to do. That's your leader, right there. Top Stories. Top Videos. Getty Images. There is an old quote that says, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood.