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Culture War Roundup for the week of July 1, 2024

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I think it's important to note that heads of state, being at the apex of accomplishment in the field of politics, are subject to different incentives as the average person.

For the most part, once you've reached that point, what more can you reasonably expect out of life? You already are garanteed to be able to have most of the earthly possessions you might reasonably desire, even if you did not abuse your position for personal gain, because of the inherent value of your importance and popularity, you can make millions trivially by letting a ghostwriter write a book for you, or by making a few corporate event appearances. Most of us scramble to try to make something significant out of our brief time on earth. Becoming President is significant. If I managed to do it, did what I believe to be a good job, yet after my term my opponents came to jail me, fuck it I'd off myself and go into the afterlife smiling knowing that I won at life and they can't take that away from me.

All that to say that the regular carrot and stick that keep us mere mortals from misbehaving are not really needed for them, because what's supposed to keep them honest is legacy. When you become head of state, you become someone who will be written in history books and known about centuries, quite possibly even millenias, into the future. Trying to play whack-a-mole with the million different ways a head of state could abuse his power is useless, just make sure, since you have the luxury to select them, that the people who get there are the kind who care that their entry in future encyclopedias read more like Marcus Aurelius' than Commodus'.

I propose a more likely alternative:

yet after my term my opponents came to jail me, fuck it I'd off them before my term is over and watch them go into the afterlife screaming knowing that I won at life and they can't take that away from me

This is a "the moment Caesar is out of office we're prosecuting him" situation. He'll get the big brained idea to never leave office.