Many people ignore history at their own peril. What happened a relatively long time ago is seen as distant and irrelevant to the concerns of now. In reality the truth could not be further from being correct on this score. Napoleon as role model for aspiring autocrats is a good example of this. Too few Australians would be familiar with the political realities of Napoleon’s rise and rule. French history is a bit of blur for many. However, the strong man emerging out of newly revolutionised democratic aspirations and chaos is a lesson we would all do to pay close attention to.
America, The French, History & Trump
Our closest ally, the Americans were much closer to the French in their independent beginnings and shared a revolution around the same time but of different characteristics. America, also, recently experienced the Trump presidency from which they are still trying to recover. Donald Trump is hanging around like a bad smell and has his claws deep into a dysfunctional Republican Party. Trump’s attempted coup and election defeat denial is still before the courts and has a way to go yet.
An indicted Donald Trump looks increasingly likely to become a convicted and perhaps incarcerated ex-President of the USA.
Napoleon’s Textbook Autocratic Rise To Power
The important facts in the Napoleon story is his textbook manipulation of social uncertainty and insecurity during times of change. The French revolution saw the dismantling of a monarchy and many deaths of reprisal. The general public became more and more covetous of a settled state. Strong leadership via autocratic behaviours are embraced by sections of the community during this time. Napoleon was able to present himself via propaganda as the general to lead the French nation. A couple of plebiscites were held, and the results of these votes were manipulated to appear as virtually unanimous wins for Napoleon. Rigging elections has been going on for a very long time. Laws were changed which diminished the rights of women and made the male head of the family the sole power. Right wing fascist dictatorships always tread the same autocratic pathways. Truth was a victim wherever Napoleon went, whether in Egypt or back in France.
Propaganda was spun to tell a story of glorious achievements when the reality was far from this. Fake news was a very Napoleonic thing and something he revelled in.
Hitler May Well Have Copied Napoleon’s Rise To Power
Adolf Hitler and the Nazis managed the same faux social upheavals in the 1920s and 1930s in Germany. The Weimar Republic was no dreadful period, rather it was the nascent beginnings of democracy, but vested interests wanted to portray it to the German people as sinful and out of control. The economic confusion and high inflationary times were largely due to global issues impacting particularly badly on Germany. However, things would have settled down in time, as they always do. The Nazis were financially backed by powerful German corporate interests and institutions. Big business, the Church, and conservative groups sought to have the citizens under the autocratic control of a strong force and Fuhrer. Hitler may well have studied the rise of Napoleon as a model for his own rise to power. Communists and anarchists were blamed for everything in pre-Nazi Germany, and this was the justification for militias and military style police forces. Autocrats and fascists always set out to establish villains and scape goats for their own behaviour and for the public to vent upon. The Jews, obviously, would become the most hated racial group in Germany and Europe with dreadful consequences for humanity. Much of the chaos and craziness was stage managed by the Nazis. This is what autocrats seek to do, create threats for which their authoritarianism is the ready solution.
Putin did this in Russia with the Chechnyan terrorist threat and soon established his police state to curtail any resistance to his dominance on the political stage.
America & The Rise Of Autocrats
The polarisation happening within America between Trumpists, and the rest of the nation is a breeding ground for fascists. Murdoch and Fox News, like hyenas smelling blood, have profited by fanning the fires of hate on their network. Stirring up Americans with shock jock style media mayhem and dehumanising ‘the other’ in order to sell advertising. This will lead to more extreme violence on American soil. All this premeditated BS about wokeness, gender identity, racial politics, and depicting Democrats as evil is a king size crock of shit. Really, people like Murdoch and his minions should be put in jail. Trump was a horrendous President, incompetent and corrupt. The fact that he could not adjust from being a businessman intent on making money to leading the free world was a huge stain on the credibility of America. It will take decades for the damage done by Trump to ever be put right.
The fact that a solid section of the US population continue to back Trump is of great concern to the rest of the world. Stupid is as stupid does – to quote another great American.
Napoleon Showed The Way For Would Be Authoritarian Regimes
Napoleon portrayed himself as the heroic saviour of the French people. In reality, he was just another military leader exploiting opportunities to take control of an Empire. Much of what was put about him in France was propaganda. Many people will believe what they are told if there is enough to eat and they are not fearing for their lives. Fascism feeds on fear and uncertainty. The China anxiety! Fear of Aboriginal groups taking your property. Scare mongering about rampant crimes and gangs of African refugees committing acts of violence. These are the kind of things put about by the Murdoch press, News Corp, and Peter Dutton’s conservative backers.
Sky News Australia is constantly releasing click bait headlines of this nature. Winding up older Australians who are readily willing to believe the worst about people categorised as ‘the other’. The other are portrayed as less than human and dangerous to the security of everyday Australians.
Dole bludgers became fair game for Robodebt, where half a million Australians were wrongly accused of owing money to the LNP federal government. Creating scapegoats and villains is the business these merchants of fear engage in. This lays the groundwork for autocratic governments to step into, as if to save the day from the enemies of the state. Socialists are really totalitarian communists in the Sky New’s playbook. Gay people and LGBTQI folk are immoral threats to the safety of our children, according to Duttonites and Murdoch’s minions. Gender identity issues are threatening the very fabric of this God fearing nation, according to right wing conservatives. Extreme political messaging on social issues is all about undermining the sense of security of the Australian citizenry. Look at America, once the centre is gone and polarisation occurs extremism becomes the norm.
Democracy is under attack from would be authoritarian regimes. Big business and the billionaires will back the strong man and the fascist state. They are only concerned with profitability and doing business. Control is conducive to their aims.
“Napoleon came to the attention of the National Convention for his part in quelling counter-revolutionary outbreaks in Toulon. When, in October 1795, royalists rebelled against the new government proposed by the National Convention – the Directory – Napoleon was again called on to put down the rebellion. Napoleon turned cannons on to the crowd and halted the uprising. His growing favour earned him the command of the Army of Italy.
On 9 March 1796 Napoleon married Marie-Josèphe Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie (whom Napoleon called Josephine), a thirty-two-year-old widow from Martinique who had two children from her first marriage. Two days later, he left to command the French Army in Italy. His successful campaigns were to bring him further acclaim. Next, Napoleon’s aspirations turned to the east. Assembling an army and a phalanx of scientists he devised a plan to block English trade-lines to India by conquering Ottoman-ruled Egypt, while simultaneously uncovering the secrets of the ancient world and cementing France’s reputation as a nation of learning and enlightenment.”
Napoleon is widely admired in the business world, as a great leader of men. The expanse of time has removed much of the angst and bitter hate he engendered among many in the world. His achievements have been smoothed over with the rough edges taken off to leave great conquests to be listed in history books. Men admire his military record and stylish sense of leadership despite his short stature. Perhaps, size does not matter. His foray into Egypt saw him strut in the footsteps of Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great before him. Bonaparte was a canny fellow with an eye on posterity for sure. His defeats were downplayed and his victories trumpeted to the ends of the empire. An autocrat to his bootstraps his arrogance and smarts took him far. He knew the value of creating celebrity and milked it for all it was worth. He understood that most people are happier being sheep and will follow clear directions anywhere. A clever regime will remove the few competing claims and focus the public spleen on defined enemies of the state.
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of Money Matters: Navigating Credit, Debt, and Financial Freedom.
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