America must hope Donald Trump is not a new Caligula

There is one detail that makes one’s hands tremble: many of the most devastating political catastrophes in history were initiated not out of necessity, but out of the sheer folly or vanity of those in power. And often, those who made the decisions not only disregarded common sense, but also made choices that even harmed their own people in the long run. The point here is this: we tend to think that leaders always act out of rational calculation—perhaps with values different from our own, but nevertheless guided by the national interest. Instead, history shows that often the most destructive decisions stem from personal, blind, almost self-destructive impulses. And the comparison with Caligula, the Roman emperor renowned for his cruelty and unpredictability, serves as a warning: those who lead a superpower are not necessarily immune to the same shortcomings. One name that immediately springs to mind is Caligula, an emperor who went down in history for his absurd antics, such as appointing his horse a senator. But the point is not just personal madness: it is unlimited power that turns eccentricities into collective tragedies. Today, in modern democracies, we imagine that systems of checks and balances prevent similar excesses, but we only need to look at recent years to see leaders – from Vladimir Putin to Donald Trump – making decisions that destroy economies, unleash needless wars, and seem to disregard the well-being of their own people. At the heart of the matter is a scene that gives us pause: it is said that Caligula, at the height of his power, staged absurd and wasteful games while Rome was becoming impoverished. Today, when we see leaders pursuing their own personal glory while ignoring the consequences for ordinary people, the parallel becomes unsettling. And the data support this idea: according to many historical analyses, most of the most devastating wars did not start due to genuine threats, but rather due to whims, misperceptions, or simple arrogance. However, there is one aspect that we often overlook: the difference between individual madness and systemic madness. Caligula was just one man, but the system that brought him to power and allowed him to remain in power was as complicit as he was. Today, if we fear the “new Caligulas,” the real question is: Can our systems really stop them in time? The key phrase to remember is this: It is not enough to hope that the next leader will be wiser—we need a system that makes personal madness harmless to everyone. If this perspective has made you look at power and its risks in a different light, you can press I'm In on Lara Notes: it's not a like; it's your way of saying that this idea is now part of you. And if tonight you happen to tell someone the story of Caligula and leaders who ruin their own people, on Lara Notes you can mark who was with you: Shared Offline is your way of saying that that conversation mattered. This idea comes from The Economist and will save you 3 minutes.