--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the tyrant has disposed of foreign…" description: "\"When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/541/plato-103_leadership_when-the-tyrant-has-disposed-of-foreign_268405.jpg" --- # When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by… ![“When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/541/plato-103_leadership_when-the-tyrant-has-disposed-of-foreign_268405.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/541/plato-103_leadership_when-the-tyrant-has-disposed-of-foreign_268405.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/541/plato-103_leadership_when-the-tyrant-has-disposed-of-foreign_268405.jpg) > “When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.” [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leaders create conflicts to maintain control when external threats disappear. **In simple terms:** Leaders manufacture wars to stay needed. Key Takeaway Beware of leaders who create problems to stay powerful. Themes politics power war leadership Mood critical analytical cautious Type political philosophical When to use this quote - elections - media analysis - community organizing - policy debates Key Concepts political theory social control manipulation Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate a leader is manufacturing threats? - How can societies reduce reliance on war for unity? A Different Perspective Not all conflicts are fabricated; some arise organically. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemies Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies-conquest-2629961/) [Foreign Enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-enemies-1186334/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Stirring War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stirring-war-2629959/) [Tyrant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrant/) [Tyrant Disposed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrant-disposed-2629960/) ## Related quotes > [When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest...and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-the-tyrant-has-disposed-of-foreign-enemies-by-conquest-and-there/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [A tyrant... is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/a-tyrant-is-always-stirring-up-some-war-or-other-in-order-that-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Many Chinese saw opium as a poison introduced by foreign enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-trout/many-chinese-saw-opium-as-a-poison-introduced-by-foreign-enemies/) [Robert Trout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-trout/) > [War is a sociological safety valve that cleverly diverts popular hatred for the ruling classes into a happy occasion to mutilate or kill foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/war-is-a-sociological-safety-valve-that-cleverly-diverts-popular/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [If the nation is not capable of preserving itself and reproducing, if it loses it vital bearings and ideals, then it doesn't need foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/if-the-nation-is-not-capable-of-preserving-itself-and-reproducing-if/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [Vladimir Putin has to create foreign enemies, and he also has to justify... he has to claim... he can't acknowledge that there's a legitimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-browder/vladimir-putin-has-to-create-foreign-enemies-and-he-also-has-to/) [Bill Browder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-browder/) > [“Do you mean that the tyrant will dare to use violence against the people who fathered him, and raise his hand against them if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/do-you-mean-that-the-tyrant-will-dare-to-use-violence-against-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [The people always have some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness. ... This and no other is the root from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-people-always-have-some-champion-whom-they-set-over-them-and/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/this-and-no-other-is-the-root-from-which-a-tyrant-springs-when-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Love reigns a very tyrant in my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-otway/love-reigns-a-very-tyrant-in-my-heart/) [Thomas Otway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-otway/) > [I will never, for the future, paint the portrait of a tyrant until his head lies before me on the scaffold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/i-will-never-for-the-future-paint-the-portrait-of-a-tyrant-until-his/) [Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/) > [The only tyrant I accept in this world is the 'still small voice' within](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-only-tyrant-i-accept-in-this-world-is-the-still-small-voice-within/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“The smart tyrant flatters the people with words,while with deeds he destroys them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoli-rybakov/the-smart-tyrant-flatters-the-people-with-words-while-with-deeds-he/) [Anatoli Rybakov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoli-rybakov/) > [Faith is not about serving some tyrant in the sky that says, 'You need to get your act together.' Faith is about having a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/faith-is-not-about-serving-some-tyrant-in-the-sky-that-says-you-need/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [The tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-tyrant-has-fallen-and-iraq-is-free/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) ## More by Plato > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [You may be sure, dear Crito, that inaccurate language is not only in itself a mistake: it implants evil in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/you-may-be-sure-dear-crito-that-inaccurate-language-is-not-only-in/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-men-learn-this-it-will-implant-forgetfulness-in-their-souls-they/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I do not think it is permitted that a better man be harmed by a worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-do-not-think-it-is-permitted-that-a-better-man-be-harmed-by-a-worse/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-as-nobody-may-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“The love of man to woman is a thing common and of course, and at first partakes more of instinct and passion than of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-love-of-man-to-woman-is-a-thing-common-and-of-course-and-at-first/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [For let me tell you, that the more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-let-me-tell-you-that-the-more-the-pleasures-of-the-body-fade-away/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“What shall we say about those spectators, then, who can see a plurality of beautiful things, but not beauty itself, and who are incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/what-shall-we-say-about-those-spectators-then-who-can-see-a-plurality/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so that nobody will believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-that-nobody-will-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We must, if we are to be consistent, and if we re to have a real pedigree herd, mate the best of our men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-must-if-we-are-to-be-consistent-and-if-we-re-to-have-a-real/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) [Explore all 1,278 Plato quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## More Leadership quotes > [“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. 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