How to Rule the World

1. Power is the Ultimate Goal, Not a Dirty Word

You are nothing without power, and your fortunes will blow with the wind.

Power's Positive Image. The book challenges the modern negative perception of power, arguing that it's essential for achieving anything significant. It's not about being a "bleeding heart" or politically correct, but about recognizing that without power, you're at the mercy of others. Power is the force that allows you to shape the world, not just be a passive observer.

Power's Benefits. The book outlines the advantages of wielding power, including wealth, superior healthcare, access to the finest things, and the ability to travel the world. It suggests that the desire for power is natural, stemming from the pleasure of having one's will obeyed, much like a child's demands being met. It's about commanding your world and having it bend to your will.

Ruling Your World. The book emphasizes that ruling the world starts with ruling your own life. It's about taking control of your destiny and not being a victim of circumstance. Whether you aim to build a business empire or lead a nation, the principles of power remain the same. It's about achieving dominance in your chosen field and staying there.

2. Cultivate the Despot Within: Personality Traits of a Leader

Nature has left this tincture in the blood, that all men would be tyrants if they could.

Unscrupulousness is Key. The book argues that a great leader isn't bound by conventional morality. They do what's necessary, regardless of reputation. It cites Charlemagne's execution of 4,500 Saxons as an example of a leader who prioritized effectiveness over ethics. The focus is on what works, not what's right or wrong.

Essential Traits. The book highlights key personality traits for leadership, including charisma, paranoia, unscrupulousness, and determination. Charisma is the ability to inspire blind devotion, while paranoia is a healthy awareness that everyone is a potential threat. Unscrupulousness is the willingness to do whatever it takes, and determination is the relentless pursuit of goals.

Self-Assessment. The book includes a questionnaire to help readers assess their leadership potential. It asks questions about their willingness to undermine authority, their preference for small conspiratorial groups, and their comfort with being saluted. A high score indicates a natural aptitude for leadership, while a low score suggests a need for further development.

3. The Wilderness Years: Apprenticeship is Essential

One man who has a mind and knows it, can always beat ten men who haven’t and don’t.

Lowly Beginnings. The book emphasizes the importance of a humble background for credibility. It cites examples like Hitler, Napoleon, and Stalin, who all rose from relatively low social positions. An impoverished background provides valuable experience with deprivation and suffering, which fuels ambition and sets one apart.

Constructive Childhood. The book suggests that leadership qualities should be evident early on. It encourages readers to look for or fabricate stories of premature intelligence, courage, and cruelty from their childhood. These stories help establish a narrative of exceptionalism and set the stage for future leadership.

Education and Hobbies. The book stresses the importance of a good education, citing examples like Alexander the Great's tutelage under Aristotle. It also suggests that ideal hobbies for future leaders include playing at business, an interest in pets (often involving cruelty), playing with guns, and having pen pals (with a focus on secrecy). These activities cultivate the skills and mindset necessary for leadership.

4. Choose Your Career Path Wisely: Power is the Destination

The struggle to the summit itself is sufficient to fill the heart of man.

Strategic Career Choices. The book advises readers to choose a career path that will guarantee their chance of attaining absolute power. It lists ten jobs likely to lead to world domination, including salesman, political party secretary, film director, computer programmer, soldier, chef, political advisor, parking inspector, accountant, and interior decorator. These careers offer opportunities to master manipulation, control, and strategy.

Politics as Training Ground. The book highlights politics as the ultimate training ground for those seeking power. It emphasizes that many actions considered unacceptable in civilized society are permitted in politics. It's a world of backstabbing, passion, and clandestine operations, where any act is justified to protect society from opponents.

Business and Religion. The book also explores business and religion as paths to power. Business offers the ability to control vast resources and influence economies, while religion provides a "velvet hammer" to control minds and establish a theocracy. Both paths offer opportunities to amass power and shape society.

5. Seize Power: Methods of Ascension

The great questions of the day will not be settled by speeches and majority decisions...but by blood and iron.

The Election. The book acknowledges that some leaders come to power through elections, like Hitler and Mugabe. While it may complicate matters, it can provide an aura of legitimacy. The key is to maintain power once you have it, and a democratic process can make it harder for people to challenge your rule.

Succession and Murder. The book discusses succession as another legitimate way to achieve power, particularly in monarchies. However, it also highlights the effectiveness of murder as a swift path to power, citing examples like Macbeth and the Roman Emperor Claudius. Murder clears the way for action and eliminates rivals.

The Coup. The book emphasizes the coup as a quick and decisive method of seizing power. It provides examples of successful coups and offers advice on organizing one, including securing a backer, denigrating the enemy, and choosing the right moment. It also stresses the importance of perseverance, even if the first attempt fails.

6. Run Your Country Like a Well-Oiled Machine

Too bad the only people who know how to run a country are driving cabs and cutting hair.

Symbolic Changes. The book advises new leaders to make immediate changes to establish their authority. This includes changing the names of major cities, the national flag, and even the name of the country itself. These changes create a sense of a new regime and disorient those who cling to the past.

Acting the Part. The book stresses the importance of adopting the characteristics of a leader, including having every whim obeyed, quoting philosophers, adopting a tone of infinite wisdom, and gesticulating wildly. It also emphasizes the need to dress like a leader, often in a military uniform, to inspire respect and project power.

Media Manipulation. The book highlights the importance of using the media to your advantage. It advises leaders to treat their subjects to regular broadcasts, use the media to avoid criticism, and release sensational stories to distract from negative news. It also stresses the need to control the media to maintain power.

7. Staying in Power: Paranoia is Your Friend

...a perpetual and restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in death.

Eternal Vigilance. The book argues that once in power, a leader must be constantly vigilant, as everyone is a potential threat. It advises leaders to trust no one, as their food could be poisoned, their guards could be assassins, and their confidantes could be spies. Paranoia is not a disease but a sign of mental health for a leader.

Identifying Threats. The book outlines who to watch out for, including supporters, predecessors, enemies of sponsors, and even family members. It emphasizes that those who helped you to power are now your rivals and must be kept close. It also stresses the need to confine or eliminate predecessors to prevent their return.

Maintaining Control. The book advises leaders to keep the masses quiet by providing them with bread and circuses, such as sport and television. It also stresses the need to play "the Great Game" by spreading influence across the world and using local thugs to maintain control. Cruel and unusual punishments are also necessary to deter dissent.

8. Advanced World Rule: Beyond the Mundane

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Founding a Faith. The book suggests that the natural progression for many great rulers is to start a religion. This ensures their influence endures beyond death and offers opportunities for conformity, revenue, and global reach. It also allows leaders to reinvent themselves with a more spiritual identity.

Propaganda and Control. The book emphasizes the importance of propaganda in shaping public opinion. It advises leaders to control the media, manipulate the truth, and use big events to distract from their actions. It also stresses the need to create a "cult of personality" to maintain loyalty.

The Big Idea and War. The book argues that every ambitious ruler needs a "big idea" to justify their actions, often involving world domination. It advises leaders to be prepared for war, surprise their enemies, and avoid declaring war to circumvent international rules. It also stresses the need to build an empire to maintain power.

9. Power and Wealth: A Natural Consequence

Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.

Wealth as a Tool. The book argues that wealth is a natural consequence of power and a tool to maintain it. It emphasizes that having money broadens horizons and provides a refuge should one fall from grace. It also highlights the importance of using wealth to shape the world.

Legitimate Wealth Creation. The book outlines various ways to create wealth, including exploiting mineral resources, seizing art treasures, running casinos, owning tobacco plantations, supplying arms, dumping toxic waste, and destroying rainforests. It stresses that as long as these activities are lawful, they are acceptable.

Financial Protection. The book advises leaders to protect their financial interests by attending exclusive meetings like the Bilderberg Group and adopting titles that command respect. It also warns against the dangers of money and sex, suggesting that the opposite sex will find you irresistible and will try to exploit your wealth.

10. Power and Love: A Strategic Alliance

Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Marriage as a Political Tool. The book emphasizes that marriage is a political appointment, not an emotional one. It advises leaders to choose a consort who will cement alliances and benefit their rule. It also stresses the need to do your homework and avoid marrying someone like Lucrezia Borgia.

Dating Tips for Dictators. The book provides dating tips for dictators, suggesting they choose a "blank slate" for total domination, an "entertainer" for glamour, or a "Lady Macbeth" for a true soul mate. It also highlights the importance of great power partnerships, like Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Napoleon and Josephine, and Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Mistresses and Perks. The book argues that there is no limit to the number of mistresses a leader can have, as long as they provide their wife with an heir and maintain discretion. It also highlights the perks of power, such as access to mistresses and the ability to indulge in various desires.

11. Posterity: Leaving Your Indelible Mark

The main thing is to make history, not to write it.

Public Buildings and Monuments. The book emphasizes the importance of leaving a lasting legacy through public buildings and monuments. It advises leaders to build structures that are imposing, designed for giants, and have no public exit. It also stresses the need for heroic statues and a balcony for viewing parades.

Eccentricities and Memoirs. The book suggests that leaders should develop eccentricities to distract from their actions and write their own memoirs to set the record straight. It also highlights the importance of having a reliable biographer or writing a diary to control their narrative.

Children and Succession. The book stresses the need to produce a legitimate heir and raise them to be a worthy successor. It advises leaders to place their children in the care of professionals, send them to exclusive schools, and teach them skills that will stand them in good stead in later life.

12. Retirement: Quitting While You're Ahead

It is time I stepped aside for a less experienced and less able man.

Retirement Checklist. The book provides a checklist for retirement, including clearing the decks of opponents, finding a successor, securing money, finding an ideal location, and selecting retirement companions. It emphasizes the need to quit while you're on top and without letting go of all the perks.

Choosing Your Moment and Successor. The book advises leaders to retire in secrecy and choose a successor who is inferior to them. It also highlights the importance of avoiding second-rate successors, like Edward II of England and Ogodei Kha'an.

Retiring Without Letting Go. The book suggests that leaders can retire without really letting go by changing the constitution or declaring themselves "eternal president." It also emphasizes the need to get away with it all and not pay for past crimes.

The Comeback and Demise. The book acknowledges that some leaders may feel the urge to make a comeback, but warns against it. It also highlights the importance of a dramatic or mysterious departure to ensure a place in history. It concludes with a list of famous last words to inspire leaders in their final moments.

Last updated: January 24, 2025