The Easiest People to Control 

The Greatest Danger Isn’t Out There

Many of us grew up believing the greatest threat to democracy was an outside enemy or nuclear disaster.

(Who hid under their desk in the Duck and Cover classroom drills that lasted into the 80s?)

But that isn’t true—not entirely.

The greatest danger lies in our shared psychological blind spots—our inability to see the predictable ways we’re persuaded to act against our own interests. We fear foreign enemies when the more insidious danger is coming from inside the house.

We live in a world where our political leaders create danger that doesn’t exist, convinces citizens they’re under threat, and offer them ways out that only work against their own interests and well-being.

They know what many of us don’t—basic psychology. Yet, access to this knowledge isn’t limited to those in power.

It’s available for everyone.

As Timothy Snyder writes in On Freedom, we often mistake liberty to mean having no one tell us what to do. But real freedom is something we sustain together—through truth, solidarity, and keeping the future open to possibilities we can’t yet imagine. When we forget this, we become easy prey for those who seem to speak our language but in reality are quietly narrowing the space of what we can think, say, and do.

How Dangerous Leaders Work

The traits of dangerous leaders are well-documented. The “Dark Triad”—psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism—appears often, alongside paranoia and moral emptiness, and their tactics are textbook.

What’s missing is our ability to see them—especially when wrapped in familiar language, appealing promises, or tribal identities.

In her book, Did That Just Happen? Julia Galef calls this the difference between a “soldier mindset” and a “scout mindset.” Soldiers defend their beliefs as if identity depends on them; scouts seek accurate maps of reality, even if that means redrawing the borders.

A society locked in soldier mindset will mistake manipulation for leadership if it confirms its cherished narratives.

The Needs They Exploit

Everyone is vulnerable to these forces. Recognizing and accepting that is the first step toward resisting them.

Manipulators target universal needs: belonging, understanding, having a voice. They may frame these human traits as weaknesses—or exploit the fear that these traits make us vulnerable—then use them as tools to control us.

Below are some common manipulation tactics…

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