On Tyranny Summary – Protect Yourself From Dangerous Leaders

Detailed Summary of On Tyranny

“You should not be shocked that a state will want to keep the monopoly of power over currency for itself.”

This is one of the more revealing lines in Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny. As the title suggests, this book was written to address the political climate in America after Trump’s presidential victory. Many Americans have indeed been shocked at his presidency and its accompanying political climate, but it is Snyder’s goal to show readers how they should expect their political system to operate.

That is because Snyder believes that America is now moving toward an authoritarian state, much like those of Germany, Russia, and China have in the past. The dominance of government over all aspects of citizens’ lives has been at the heart of these states.

This can take many forms; for instance, the government dominates with its nobility class and dynastic rulers in monarchies. In communist countries, it dominates with their proletariat class. And in fascist countries, it dominates with its racist ethnic-nationalists and glorified military forces.

On Tyranny Summary Key Points

Here below in the On Tyranny summary, we will discuss some key points from On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the twentieth century.

Reading books is the Better way to avoid Political Agendas

Human nature dictates that going against crowds is likely to result in social isolation. If this is your desire, read more books. The more you read, the less susceptible you will become too political agendas, and the more articulate you will be able to engage in conversations on any topic that might arise.

Reading also exposes you to a wider variety of views than watching TV or listening to the radio. It’s up to you whether you simply form your own opinion based on research or whether you choose to share your views with others.

Many people see reading as a waste of time, but it can get you ahead of the masses by putting you ahead of the news cycle. You are less likely to fall for the latest political gimmicks because you will have already read about them several times by then. And there are millions of other books waiting for you.

“Reports from around the web suggest that reading increases empathy and intelligence, and critical thinking abilities. In a report from Business Insider, it was found that reading fiction leads to vast improvements in reading comprehension and empathy, as well as lowers moralization, or the avoidance of moral issues.”

Don’t take part in Social barriers if you want to keep Alive well

What is the most important part to you of your community? Is it the economy? The politics? The people or the geography? What I see as an important part of a community is its health. When a community is healthy and strong, it can do great things.

There’s an old saying that applies here. When you’re healthy, you can fight off infections and come back stronger. Those infections will take over when you’re unhealthy, and they can kill you.

I think so much of what keeps communities divided is that they isolate themselves. It’s very easy to disengage from a community or turn away from it because it seems dangerous. But isolation doesn’t protect us. It’s an invitation for tyranny to choose your community for isolation to distract and destroy you.

We don’t have to accept this way of life. If we want to take control over social barriers that divide us, we need to tear them down. Then we can all focus on more important things, like discovering new friends, developing a plan for building an eco-village or just organizing the best house party ever.

Control over Social Media, the more Personal space you’ll get

There are more ways than ever to watch every minute of your life play out in a digital public forum. In exchange for this ability to connect with people all over the world, we’re losing control over who has access to our most intimate experiences and personal details.

Take, for example, two of the most popular applications today: Facebook and Twitter. Two different types of social media, but both come with their rich rewards. Facebook, a virtual Rolodex, provides convenience for all users because no one has to gather contact information for every friend he or she develops. But in doing so, privacy is compromised as well.

It’s not such a stretch that the media has seized upon this and given conspiracy theories about politics more coverage than concrete facts. We’ve all experienced this bias. But it’s not just a problem for the media.

We’re all susceptible to it, including people in tech who work on things like news feed ranking, social media, and search engines.

“The internet is full of ways for people to take information that we would otherwise be able to keep private, and use it for purposes that are incredibly invasive,” warns Tim Wu, a professor of law at Columbia University and the author of “The Attention Merchants.

On Tyranny Quotes

“10 Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is a spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.” Timothy Snyder

“You submit to tyranny when you renounce the difference between what you want to hear and what is the case.” Timothy Snyder

On Tyranny Review

If you are aware of some of the political agendas before and have an interest in politics, then this book is for you as you can read some of the points in On Tyranny’s summary. Otherwise, it is a good book to read.

To whom would I recommend On Tyranny summary?

• Anyone who is a social activist.
• Any political science student wants to know more about avoiding political agendas.
• Anyone wants to fight against a dangerous government.

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