April 20, 2025

The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience so that they believe they are as clever as he.

Karl Kraus (1874 – 1936), Austrian journalist, The Portable Curmudgeon, Jon Winokur, ed. (New York: 1987), p. 219

How would you characterize your audience—those constituents who come to hear you speak? Or who follow you on any form of media—social or otherwise? Or approach you personally on some matter?

Without excluding yourself, think of someone you consider a demagogue, or capable of being one in certain circumstances; then decide if that person’s “secret” fits Kraus’s view.