“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Mark Twain
We can learn a lot about the present by studying the past.
I recently listened to this episode of Rob Pirie’s “The Cause” podcast during a road trip and immediately found the ebook (along with a good reading of the audiobook) when I returned home. The book being reviewed is The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude by Etienne de la Boetie in the 16th century. The struggle to maintain freedom against tyranny is not new. Tyranny is not easily repelled. It requires a strong enough desire by the masses to deny obedience and dissolve the power a tyrant wishes to wield.
Read the book using this link: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude
Listen to the audiobook:
I also listened to some content from Dr. Arthur C. Brooks, including this episode from his podcast “Office Hours” where he discusses people, including politicians, that exhibit high levels of these three personality traits: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy.
- Narcissism is the egotistical admiration of oneself (“It’s all about me”)
- Machiavellianism is a duplicitous interpersonal style and disregard for morality (“I will hurt you to succeed”)
- Psychopathy is the absence of empathy and remorse (“I don’t care if I hurt you”)
He states it is important to look for these Dark Triad traits not only in people that we disagree with, but in those we believe we are “on the same side”.