158 REFLECTIONS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP
in southern Sudan, and the Muslims in Kosovo were all victims of
scapegoating, being blamed as the source of all the problems their coun-
tries were experiencing.
As mentioned earlier, enemies — real or imagined — are essential to
tyrannical regimes (Volcan, 1988 ). With the help of propaganda, despots
inspire intense hatred for their chosen scapegoats. In so doing they often
succeed in creating a sense of belonging in their followers, giving them
a sense of purpose, and distracting them from the real issues of the day.
Indoctrinated by a constant stream of propaganda, people become willing
to inform on neighbors, friends, and family members.
But there is an even uglier side to scapegoating: it has a genuine
attraction to people. Scapegoating works in the same way as participating
in violent spectator sports: it helps people to overcome their own fears.
Violent participation is, for many, a way of dealing with their own
anxiety and feelings of doubt about the regime. It is a form of insurance
as well: people hope that by showing commitment to the regime and its
policies of violence they can save themselves. Even those who only stand
at the sidelines are affected, feeling bound together by shared guilt over
not putting an end to the violence.The economic costs of tyranny
History shows irrefutably that enduringly great societies have been
built on freedom of spirit and expression. Such freedoms cannot fl our-
ish in the absence of basic standards of morality, civic virtue, and
justice for all, fairly administered. Far - reaching restrictions on freedom
inevitably result in economic decline. Thus freedom in the economic
sphere makes for individual initiative and entrepreneurship, creates
employment, and helps eradicate poverty, thereby supporting all the
other freedoms. Someone with a job and three square meals a day feels
freer to express his/her opinion than someone dependent on others
for survival.
Totalitarian governments, with their gigantic bureaucracies, are not
conducive to the spirit of entrepreneurship. Ineffi ciency, corruption, and
uncertainty, combined with the lack of individual freedom and human
rights, sap the energy and weaken the moral fabric of a country. Creating
special rights for some people, as despotic regimes do, undermines indi-
vidual freedom and civil rights, and thus undermines civilization itself.
A government that does not hold itself accountable cannot create a
foundation for economic growth. As totalitarian states mature, their
practices become greater and greater obstacles to economic development.