Book Notes | ‘Strongmen from Mussolini to the Present’
Author Ruth Ben-Ghiat has written a well-researched and carefully documented history of autocratic leaders in the 20th and 21st centuries. Starting with Benito Mussolini, who wrote the strongman playbook, Ben-Ghiat discusses Adolf Hitler, Francisco Franco, Muammar Gaddafi, Augusto Pinochet, Vladimir Putin, Silvio Berlusconi, Recap Erdogan, and Donald Trump, among others.
She describes characteristics that help strongmen gain power including opportunism, a way with words, an ability to tell lies, temper outbursts, and a willingness to use violence whenever necessary. Their assent to power was often through military coups or elections with voter suppression and fraud. Once in power, they maintain that power with relentless propaganda, corruption, violence, and a promise to their populations of a greater nation. They usually feel a need to demonstrate virility and dominate and abuse women.
Ben-Ghiat carefully describes what a disaster these strongmen are for the populations under their control. They routinely lie, suppress freedom, imprison opponents, murder, and torture to maintain control. Strongmen have a tendency to make decisions based on intuition, refuse to change their views based on new information, are unwilling to listen to others, and lack respect for the rule of law.
Overwhelming, depressing, but very important
They attempt to neutralize anyone who might expose their wrongdoing. Strongmen also use their power to enrich themselves by a variety of techniques including extortion, kickbacks, plundering of state resources, and “nationalizing” and then stealing the property of enemies. Using such techniques, Vladimir Putin, for example, has amassed an estimated net worth of $26 billion.
Finally, Ben-Ghiat tells us how the rule of strongmen ends. Often the end is unpleasant. After Mussolini was executed, Italians urinated on his corpse. Gaddafi was hunted down by his countrymen and beaten to death. Recognizing that something like this could be their end, strongmen do everything within their power to maintain control.
Also of interest, Mussolini was the first autocrat to say he was going to “drain the swamp,” and Berlusconi, when under criminal investigation, was the first to claim he was the victim of a “witch hunt.”
The UMRA book group members often used words like “overwhelming” and “depressing” to describe the book. However, all seemed to agree that the topic covered was very important as the battle between democracy and autocracy continues around the world.
—John Bantle, UMRA Book Club member
Book Club I to meet November 17
Fri, Nov 17, 2023, 2pm
.John Bantle will lead the discussion of Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert on authoritarian demagogues, when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, November 17. From Mussolini to Putin, this book details what authoritarian leaders have in common and how they can be stopped.
Email Pat Tollefson for more information. To read summaries of the book club’s discussions, go to umra.umn.edu and search for “Book Notes.”
Upcoming Events
UMRA's special event for this winter will again be a celebration of brighter days and the approaching end of winter. We'll have food, fellowship, and music provided by Urban Sound, one of the U of M’s premier student a cappella ensembles.
Our February 3 hike will be around Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis, with an option to add Bde Maka Ska, weather permitting. No matter how far we hike, let’s go to Isles Bun & Coffee for treats after the hike. Their buns are delicious!
Cabinets of Curiosity will seek out the University of Minnesota Herbarium on the St Paul Campus. Collections Manager Tim Whitfeld will share his knowledge of that amazing collection and explain its critical importance in the 21st century. Botanists study these pressed plants, individually and collectively, to establish a history of plant life, often over centuries, because they contain compelling evidence of the ever modulating geographical distribution of plants and evidence of how climate, pests, and other factors have changed species over time.
"Things that drive me crazy" will be the theme when the UMRA Photo Club meets on February 11. Newcomers are welcome.
Many life challenges that get in the way of quality of life and good health at home have little to do with medical issues. Cathy Lauring, our presenter for UMRA’s February 18 workshop, will explore a variety of resources to assist in keeping us healthy at home—including physical, emotional, cognitive, and financial services.
John Bantle will lead the discussion of A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson when the UMRA book club meets via Zoom on February 21.
Join UMRA members to watch two of the best hockey teams in the nation. UMRA has negotiated a discounted ticket price of $33.
Barbara Klick, RN, MBA, the presenter for UMRA’s February 25 Forum, has decades of experience working in human and veterinary medicine, and will bring her wisdom and perspective to our discussion about what we can learn from our pets about facing end-of-life challenges and decisions.
The Fourth Friday Book Club will meet via Zoom on February 28 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. CST to discuss The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
Will Craig discusses using local sources for family history.
The UMRA Hiking Club will explore wildlife along the Mississippi River in Fort Snelling State Park. The 3.9-mile Pike Island Loop is generally considered an easy route and takes just over an hour. Hikers can leave at that point, or stay to add another short loop. The trail is located below the bluff on which the historic fort sits. The last time we were there we saw a lot of deer, and the river always provides fascinating views.
The University of Minnesota Archives, with its major holdings largely tucked away in two huge underground caverns along the Mississippi River under the West Bank campus, holds the essential records of our University of Minnesota’s past. University Archivist Erik Moore will explain the holdings and role of our extensive university archive and bring out a sampling of what it holds. At the end of our visit, he will conduct a tour of the literally cool caverns (Minnesota Library Access Center), revealing where these precious materials are housed, including the original tapes of KUOM, now Radio K.