When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing more to fear from... — Plato

When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing more to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.

Author: Plato

Insight: The real insight here isn't about ancient tyranny—it's about how leaders use crisis to stay relevant. Whether it's a CEO manufacturing urgency about competitors, a politician amplifying threats, or someone in your own life constantly creating drama, the pattern is recognizable: problems keep people dependent. When things actually calm down, that's when the pressure mysteriously cranks back up. What makes this timeless is that it works. We're wired to rally around someone during a crisis. Our brains get quieter, our questions get fewer. It's genuinely hard to notice when we're being kept in a state of managed panic versus actual danger, especially because real threats do exist sometimes. The manipulation sits exactly on top of legitimate concerns, making it nearly impossible to spot without stepping back. The uncomfortable angle: this isn't just about overt tyrants. It's about understanding our own vulnerability to it. We all like feeling necessary, important, needed. The quieter observation is that we often let people (or institutions, or our own anxious habits) keep us in low-level crisis because the alternative—genuinely stable periods where we're not needed—can feel lonely or purposeless. Recognizing the pattern is the first step to resisting it.

Source: The Republic, Book VIII