October 26, 2017 8:44AM 

# Follow the Leader 

By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz) 

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The Washington Post sums up the situation:

> It was a party scarred by the madness, cruelty and famine that one man had prompted through disastrous policies.…
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> Senior officials lined up, one after the other, to laud what they described as \[the leader’s\] profound, courageous, thrilling, insightful masterpiece of a speech.…
> 
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> And the drumbeat of propaganda about loyalty to his leadership — combined with the constant threat of an unforgiving … campaign that has taken down several powerful rivals — makes it more difficult for anyone who dares challenge him.…
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> \[His\] message promotes a nationalist, assertive \[country\] with a much stronger military — a country that he says will not threaten the world but will resolutely defend its interests.

If you are uncertain about which country and which leader, [click here](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/chinas-leader-elevated-to-the-level-of-mao-in-communist-pantheon/2017/10/24/ddd911e0-b832-11e7-9b93-b97043e57a22_story.html?utm_term=.c8ee30768d44).

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics) 

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