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historians declare that it shows a lack of desire for or appreciation of true civic freedom, e liking for a land plastered with Verboten signs, and a craving for. goose-step regimentetion. UssoLini and Stalin are not in quite the same psychological class as Hitler. Yet if the Italian and Russian dictators had been more normal men, more loyal to the accredited standards of sanity, the history of the world certainly would have heen far differ- ent. As a psychologist I am inclined to agree with John Gunther’s conclu- sion that “all dictators are abnormal; this may be accepted as an axiom,” for “the vanity of the norma! male is , not capacious enough to accept such extreme responsibility.” Except for his megalomania—which is 8 gigantic exception, indeed—Mus- aolini is normal enough a human for moet careers. Certainly he possesses an sbundance of normalizing, extra- verted compensations. If early in life he had been induced to wear an ortho- -pedic device which inflicted a remind- ing sting whenever he strutted, the Caesar pose might have been nipped in the bud. Yet his personal ‘record is fairly damaging, and the price the eneld has had tn new tn aatiefu hie Wis HAS NG WY pry 8 Selby MAD over-gorged ego is far too high. It ie quite likely, in view of the fact that he is well versed in history, that Il Duce early in life deliberately adopted the principles of Machiavelli. There is nothing psychopathic in de- ciding that politics ig a gangsters game to be played according to gangster’s rules, with a few regards Bane she mehanten, fae sheen ane ome 2G AGT panies, sOF UWiCTS Eft misty Srerrder Ssipstese Ws Be Fe peyosopauuc cases. Mussolini told Emil Lodwig ° what a dictator learns from history is to shoot first. “I want to make my mark on history with my will, like a lion with his claw.” His crowning satisfaction is in conquest and the ap- plause of bombastic oratory. He has had to go far to find an outlet for his desire for glory. The son of the modern Caesar, sharing his father’s precepts, records that he found mow- ing down innocent Abyssinians from the air to be glorious sport, and his Victim’s consternation in finding themselves, family and shelter sud- denly exterminated most amusing. Mussolini once told Nicholas Mur- “yay Butler that freedom was not only moribund but dead. Between the bene- ussolini’s satisfection is in quest and the ap lause of bo: oratory.” fits of human freedom and the ego satisfaction of one man he has made his choice. Of contemporary dictators, Joseph Stalin is certainly the most normal. In personal demeanor he is serene, and he has a sense of humor. He is aman of ability, with an appreciation of historical forces. His personality in tTnhanwy wave ia an enigma, saseeasy wee yo oo ee ae In contrast with Hitler and Musso- lini, Stalin did not create the political state which he dominates. With the passing of Lenin, who warned his party against Stalin’s methods as crude, violent and menacing, the con- test for control of the USSR. split the state into warring factions. Stalin fought his way to power by indefatiga- : 5 ee ane d af areenio_ sae CHtIEY SHG COMMEena Gi Crganiz- ing Gelal: in what was iffevilaply a ‘iffcult revolutionary situation. He used drastic, inhuman methods to win his cause, as is shown by his past records and-amplified by his present record of purges. ‘He resorts freely to terrorist methods, apparently without a twinge. Stalin’s make-up suggests a sus- picious, withdrawal trend. He rarely sees diplomats or journalists, and even in attending a gala celebration of the Moscow Art Theater, remains screened behind a curtain in a box. Despite the apparent ovations of their following, the lives of the dic- tators are as constantly threatened as those of autocratic taars, thus causing them to have phobias quite similar to psychopathics. Stalin leaves the Krem- lin in a cavalcade of three fast-moving cars. He lives in s guarded country house surrounded by high walls. Mus- solini’s cars have one-way glass so that he can see but not be seen. Hitler has a bomb-proof cellar ander his closely guarded mountain retreat, with « charged barbed wire enclosing the estate. The strongest men and, - according to their followers, the most adored men in Europe are in constant fear for their lives, which hardly © ss] adds to the sanity of their state of -| mind. ; __ The dictator’s following i is ited among a population in despair, and is reinforced by propaganda. Once under way, the dictator imposes his will upon the masses by ruthless com- - pulsion and the silencing of opposi- tion. Dictatorship and freedom, no more than sanity and insanity, can live under the same roof.