Versión Español
By Gerardo Garibay
The final episode of the Game of Thrones premiered. It is probably the most eventful show historically. The show has a complex plot, battles, and violence, but predominantly, for the excellent dialogues by the brilliant Tyrion Lannister.
Yesterday, in the final episode, Tyrion gave us one of the clearest and most concrete explanations for the existence of tyrannies, in the scene of his conversation with Jon Snow, he explains the mental process behind the criminal madness of Daenerys, the mother of the dragons, who began her journey seeking the freedom of the oppressed and ended up charring them by hundreds of thousands in the streets of King’s Landing.
Tyrion’s words are valuable. “Everywhere she goes, evil men die, and we cheer her for it. And she grows more sure that she is good and right. She believes that her destiny is to build a better world for everyone. If you believed it; if you truly believed it, would you not kill anyone who came between you and paradise?”
If we put ideological masks on great tyrants, including ones capable of committing genocides, we will find ourselves with the following insanity: the idea that paradise on earth is within reach of the ruler, and that he, therefore, has not only the right but also the obligation, to crush those who oppose the perfect happiness of the world.
Thus, for these rulers, every discrepancy becomes an unforgivable betrayal, which only death can compensate. And at each step of the way, they will repeat, either to themselves or the very people they annihilate, “everything is for paradise.”
History is replete with examples of rulers justifying their actions with the promise of paradise. Robespierre with his, “virtue without terror is impotent.” Lenin and Stalin with their dictatorship of the proletariat. Hitler with his vision for new Berlin and great Germany.
The politicians with authoritarian tendencies at all levels of government and in all areas of politics justify their worst actions with the supposed benevolence of their intentions. They believe that they can be absolved of all immoral behavior as long as they fulfill their destiny, and that humanity should submit its nature and liberty should be submitted to them.
Thomas Sowell explains this idea in his book, Conflict of Visions. Leaders who understand that freedom and human nature are not subject to the will of the sovereign acknowledge the presumption of human liberty as a limitation to framing laws. Others, for example,
. They see people as tools that the rulers can use to execute their plan of achieving maximum happiness for all people. These despotic rulers believe that no price, including grave loss of life, is too high to secure their utopian vision of the world.
Remember also, regardless of whether it is the left or the right, a progressive or a conservative, a religious person or an atheist, “moral” or hedonist, whoever offers to people ‘heaven on earth’ will always end up imposing hell, crying, blood, and death.
Few things kill more than Utopia kills.
Gerardo Garibay is the editor of Wellington.mx and author of “Sin medias tintas” and “López, Carter, Reagan”.
