Follow the Loser: How Abject Failures Can Lead a Revolution

By Dennis Madden

History is littered with charlatans and soothsayers claiming to know a path to the Promised Land. They live off the goodwill of their followers while leading them to disaster. Some amass fortunes through their deceit. Others have a legitimate grievance but soon learn that there’s a profit in being the answer to so many. They are charismatic, cunning, and self-serving.
Many of the “good-willed” don’t care about the cause or the people they claim to serve. The suffering only serves to stoke the flames of their personal failures and the entities (people, corporations, races, aliens, the list goes on) that are responsible for their suffering.
Follow the Loser takes a look into the dark shadows and deep secrets of some of the most prominent leaders of the past two centuries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664133129

Dennis Madden

Dennis Madden, along with his wife, Jennifer, lives in Southern California. Dennis spent most of his career in the automotive business, specifically the automatic transmission rebuilding industry. He’s worked as a rebuilder, trainer, speaker, author, and, finally, the CEO of the largest trade association in the industry. His hobbies include BBQ, music, and gardening. As an avid history buff and political junkie, he began researching world leaders for fun eight years ago. After about three years (and a pile of research material), he collected his notes, which began the formation of this book.

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Copyright © 2020 by Dennis Madden.

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Rev. date: 04/13/2021

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgment

Preface

Chapter 1: The Birth of a Loser-Leader

Chapter 2: The Subjects of This Book

Chapter 3: Karl Marx (1818–1883)

Chapter 4: Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924)

Chapter 5: Leon Trotsky (1879–1940)

Chapter 6: Joseph Stalin (1878–1953)

Chapter 7: Isms

Chapter 8: Benito Mussolini (1883–1945)

Chapter 9: Adolf Hitler (1889–1945)

Chapter 10: Cult Leaders

Chapter 11: Heaven’s Gate (1975–1997)

Marshall Applewhite (1931–1997)

Chapter 12: Peoples Temple (1955–1978)

Jim Jones (1931–1978)

Chapter 13: Charles Manson (1934–2017)

Chapter 14: The Art of Deception

Chapter 15: Manipulating the Vote

Chapter 16: Conclusion

Appendix A

Appendix B

Resources

Acknowledgment

This venture started out over eight years ago as a fun project. Three years later, I thought the subject would make an interesting book. I never realized the amount of research and depth of study I’d be in for and the piles of research material that would soon clutter up the house. My wife, Jennifer, tolerated the mess and encouraged me for the remaining five years it took to gather this material and put it into something that might be worth reading. She kept my spirits high when I grew discouraged and understood when I would hide away for more study and writing. She was my rock for this project. Thank you, babe!

Two people I’d like to thank for their encouragement are Scott Harris and Russ Towne. Both are writers and longtime friends. Every few months, I’d see another book one of them had released. They were both eager and willing to share ideas about book writing and publishing. Their spirit and can-do-ism made me pick up my notepad, study a bit more, or write a few more pages. Every couple of weeks, Scott would send an e-mail: So how’s the book coming along? I’d get back to it even when I wasn’t in the mood at the moment. Thank you, Scott and Russ.

Jim Cathcart is my coach, mentor, and friend. His relentless pursuit of excellence showed me that anything is possible. He has a way of reaching out to me just when I need it and with just the right inspiration. Thank you, Jim.

Finally, a special thank you to Rodger Bland. We have something we call the process. We use it for work that we both do in a magazine, and it goes like this: Rodger reads my work out loud while I listened. He’ll comment on things that don’t make any sense to him or where I’ve presumed something that the reader might already know. It’s a great way to find errors or awkward reading that you wouldn’t find just by reading it to yourself.

Rodger liked the topic of the book, and early on, he said, Hey, Dennis, we better do the process with your book. He’s read the entire book to me out loud at least twice, with some chapters five or six times. He’d ask questions that made me realize, I better add something about that. This book wouldn’t be what it is without his help. Thank you, Rodger.

Preface

Throughout history, mankind has had individuals rise to positions of prominence and leadership. Whether it’s a leader of nations, a religious leader, or a leader of a movement, there have been those select few that manage to form a group of followers.

But who are these individuals, and why do people follow or even worship them? What is it about their ability to captivate the masses with such conviction that they literally change the course of history?

Historically, many leaders were simply born into their position, or they battled their way to the top, killing whoever was in their way. It wasn’t so much that people chose to follow them, but instead, the leaders were forced upon them.

However, over the past couple of centuries, people have chosen, selected, or voted for their leaders. This has brought about a new dynamic, so potential leaders didn’t always battle their way to the top. They persuaded people who share their grievances to join their movement. Which begs the question, why do we follow them? What is it about these individuals that make them worthy of our attention and adulation? Just what makes these individuals stand out from the crowd? Were they successful and accomplished? Did they do something that brought them newsworthy attention and captivated an audience? Did they do anything noteworthy that made people stand up and take notice?

Surprisingly, many of the most prominent figures over the past couple of centuries were abject failures. They failed at school, they failed in the military, or they couldn’t hold a job. Some abandoned their wives and family. They mooched off their friends. By any standard or measure, they were total failures.

It was their ability to gather a crowd and sway opinion that brought them to a position of prominence, feeding their massive egos.

Many of them lived a lifestyle they could never have achieved by their own ability. While living the lifestyle of nobility, they were spreading destruction and death everywhere they went. Sadly, by the time their followers realized the dark path they were taking, it was often too late. Many of these leaders were exiled, executed, run out of town, voted out of office, or just faded away, but not before leaving a path of destruction and misery.

Still, to this day, we fall prey to big talk and dreams of utopia. Follow the Loser chronicles leaders from the past two centuries and examines their life. After our examination, you may wonder how anyone could have been so stupid as to follow such losers in the first place.

You’ll also see the similarities between them and the current crop of rising stars. This begs the question, Do we really want to follow people that can barely manage their own lives? Once armed with the ability to spot these charlatans, you’ll never find yourself bamboozled again.

As we examine the subjects of this book, look for their character traits; we’ll cover them in great detail. Follow the Loser will reveal the trickery and unseemly tactics used by the most compelling saviors of humanity. It’s easy, it’s fun, and it might just save your life.

Chapter One

The Birth of a Loser-Leader

For our purposes, you can put history’s leaders into one of two groups:

1. The accomplished: They’ve made a name for themselves and have inspired people to follow them.

2. The unaccomplished: These are people that have either bullied their way to the top or attracted followers using a Pied Piper effect or both.

Of course, loser-leaders don’t lure followers with a pipe or similar instrument but, instead, lure them with rhetoric and slogans like Forward Together. The loser-leaders we’ll examine use similar methods to attract a following. And though our examination began over a century ago, you can find these very traits today among highly admired political figures.

Loser-leaders are aggrieved and have a need to get even. They believe they’re brilliant and think highly of their opinion.

Their brilliance hasn’t led them to the success they crave or deserve. Despite their talent and ability, there’s something out there that keeps foiling their dreams. There’s always something or someone getting in the way. As a result, loser-leaders are angry and driven by their grievance.

They justify themselves by their intentions. They convince themselves how much better the world would be if people would only listen to them and embrace their ideas. They have contempt for most people other than those who share their ideas and agree with them. They have a small circle of like-minded colleagues and friends who serve as an echo chamber to reinforce how right they are.

Let’s look a bit deeper into their character flaws and try to notice them as we go through the subjects of this book.

1. They are insecure.

Loser-leaders have a hard time with criticism and will lash out when someone pokes fun at them or challenges their motives.

Many loser-leaders were picked on as children or had some type of emotional distress while growing up. If they reach a position of prominence, then harsh words directed at them will not be tolerated.

2. They’re unaccomplished and have an ax to grind.

Many of the loser-leaders highlighted in this book came from dysfunctional families or had some personal setback that left them bitter. They used it as a reason for their failures as well as other outside influencers and demons that have held them back. The accomplished and people of means are high on the list of scapegoats for many loser-leaders. They’ll continue this rhetoric even while their own bank account overflows from financial gifts from their followers.

They may point to prejudices as a reason they couldn’t get ahead and see a demon under every rock and around every corner. The loser-leader is pissed and angry and has a need to get even. They’ll get theirs one day, they think.

Meanwhile, all around them are people in similar (or worse) situations who are succeeding financially, socially, or politically. It’s just not fair, they think.

Loser-leaders can only explain why they didn’t succeed, and their ego will never allow them to accept any blame. Take a look at their past, and if they weren’t personally successful yet think highly of their opinion, then they’re a good candidate to become a loser-leader.

3. They feel superior to everyone around them.

We see this in everyday life. You may have coworkers who are always sharing their thoughts and expect you to agree with them. They think highly of their opinion and are eager to let people know how smart they are.

This in itself isn’t a sign of a loser-leader; they might just be a blowhard or ill-mannered. They could also be very talented at something and want to impress the people around them and are seeking the attention they never received from their parents.

The loser-leader thinks very little of the opinion of others. They feel they are smarter than most and are quick to criticize everyone else. You’ll see this particularly around election time, where they openly proclaim that only stupid people would vote for …

They point out bad drivers on the freeway and denounce their coworkers as stupid or lazy. In a general sense, they hide their own failings by pointing out the failings of others. This is a regular occurrence on social media. When you see this, know you have a loser-leader without backing.

4. They attack their opponents rather than debate them.

Disagreement or a different point of view is, to them, proof that you are stupid, a bad person for thinking that way, and you must be eliminated, controlled, or diminished so that the threat of your opinion goes away. This is popular today, where the loser-leader seeks to discredit their opponent rather than debate them. They’ll seek (or make up) dirt on their opponent to discredit them in the public eye. Given which way the winds of the press blow, their charges may be fully believable.

When confronted with their assertions, they lose it and get angry. They’re likely to start calling you names, referring to you as a racist or Fascist. The reason for this is that they live by sound bites and clichés and have never considered opposing ideas.

They haven’t thought through their ideas well enough, so they’re unprepared for any opposition to their brilliance. They believe that people who think differently are uneducated and stupid. This is particularly true of academics, who have mistaken their college degree as affirmation for how smart they are.

If a commoner confronts them with questions they can’t answer, they become frustrated. It gets even worse when the commoner points out a contradiction to their assertions or points out a fact they hadn’t considered. They hang around like-minded people and create an echo chamber that plays into the believability of their assertions and worldview. You see this at parties where four or five people gather around and vocally run down political figures they disagree with. They’re blind to the fact that a dozen or so people around them quietly keep to themselves. It’s likely that the quiet ones oppose the opinions of the people running their mouths but know there’s no point in getting into it with them; it’ll just turn into a screaming match.

5. They discover their ability to dazzle an audience.

This trait may be the single most important factor for the ascension of a loser-leader. Potential loser-leaders are everywhere; work, school, or even within your own family. For the most part, they live harmlessly among us. We might consider them an annoyance and walk away when they lay into a rant.

If left alone, these people may grow up disillusioned, blaming society for their plight, and live their lives as perpetual dependents or an old curmudgeon that others tolerate.

But if these very same people realize they can attract a crowd, then you have the makings of a loser-leader.

The key to the ascension of a simple blowhard to that of a loser-leader is a growing audience. If a billionaire with the charisma of a pencil eraser becomes captivated by this individual, look out! They may just have discovered the next world leader and will fund them to that end.

Loser-leaders crave attention and need an audience. The line between someone being a hapless malcontent, scrimping for their next meal, and living a lifestyle they could only dream of is in the hands of the audience. An ever-increasing audience of people in need is their path to freedom, wealth, and prominence.

Chapter Two

The Subjects of This Book

History is littered with loser-leaders and authoritarians who offered hope but delivered misery. It’d be wrong to suggest that everyone that qualifies as a loser-leader is diabolical in their thinking or set out to mislead their constituents. A well-meaning person might blunder their people into a disaster simply because they don’t know what they’re doing.

Many of the subjects considered for this project used their grievance as their guide. They saw the world as unjust and sought to right the wrongs of society. Loser-leaders improve their lives through the actions of their followers. They are receivers and takers, not givers.

There’s a long list of people considered for this book. They include the following:

• Mao Zedong – Communist revolutionary and founder of the People’s Republic of China

• Nikita Khrushchev – leader of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964

• Fidel Castro – dictator of Cuba

• Hugo Chávez – dictator of Venezuela

• Che Guevara – Marxist revolutionary in Argentina

• Robert Tilton – televangelist

• David Koresh – Branch Davidian cult leader

These were only considerations, and in the end, there were nine people researched, and for specific reasons. It wasn’t to pick at these individuals or set them apart from others that would have made great subjects. They each offered a perspective that could transfer to modern-day individuals, or their historical role was so significant that they couldn’t be overlooked.

Of course, we had to begin with Karl Marx, the father of the Communist movement. Communism is so popular today that it seemed fitting to start with him. From there, we examined the leaders of the Russian revolution and creators of the Soviet Union: Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Joseph Stalin.

The counters to Communism were the Fascists, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. How could we pass on them?

We’ll wrap up our exposé with a look into cult leaders. Surprisingly, you’ll find shared traits between cult leaders and many in politics: the main difference being the devotion of their followers.

For this, we’ll look into the lives of Marshall Applewhite of Heaven’s Gate, Jim Jones of People’s Temple, and Charles Manson, the leader of the notorious Manson Family.

From there, we’ll examine the techniques of those mentioned above and the work of the master hell-raiser, Saul Alinsky. This is where we connect history’s tyrants and authoritarians with today’s politicians. The methods to control people are not new; they go back hundreds, if not thousands, of years. People in need are the fertile ground for a loser-leader to jump in and save the day. They may never accomplish anything or liberate their followers, but they are loved for trying.

Alinsky examined the methods for controlling people and developed a road map for those who wanted a shortcut to get ahead. Once you’re familiar with how they work, you’ll recognize them in practice, and you’ll see them in action during press conferences and rallies, aired on the nightly news. It’s easy, and you’ll never be fooled again by big talk and lofty promises.

Chapter Three

Karl Marx (1818–1883)

The Father of Communism

Left-leaning movements, whether they be Communist, Socialist, or any other communal type it takes a village or stronger together movement is born out of grievance. Whether the grievance is real, imagined, or contrived doesn’t matter all that much; it is the comradery of the supposed downtrodden that animates this group. This is not to say that all movements are frivolous or unimportant. On the contrary, the history of humanity is that of tyranny, dungeons, and slavery.

Many people throughout history stood up to beat back the forces of evil and deliver people to freedom and a better life. These heroes are worth celebrating, for they didn’t strike up the cause with personal gain as the objective.

The loser-leader, on the other hand, learns early on that the cause is the source of their personal enrichment; it is a by-product of the cause. The loser-leader may also seek a level of notoriety that they couldn’t achieve otherwise. It is personal gain they seek, and the cause or crisis is simply the vehicle to achieve it. The people whom they claim to hold dear are nothing more than tools to advance their career.

No story of struggle and crisis would be complete without discussing the life of Karl Marx, the father of the Communist movement in the nineteenth century. His thinking and philosophy lay the groundwork for many changes and societal restructuring throughout the twentieth century and is still used today. You may have heard politicians condemned the use of kiosks and ATMs as tools that eliminated the need for people, replacing those jobs with a machine. This is right out of Karl Marx’s playbook.

The replacing of people by machines was a key point for Marx and the cornerstone for his condemnation of capitalism. Marx saw machinery, which he referred to as capital as the tool for the wealthy, the bourgeoisie, to undermine labor, taking the place of people in manufacturing.

His work is heralded as some of the most relevant and meaningful efforts toward social reconstruction; changing the course of nations. Yet he was a loser’s loser. Even his own family questioned whether he would ever make anything of himself.

Throughout his life, Marx had pitted the haves and have-nots, the rich and the poor, the bourgeois and proletarians, always citing those with money, power, and prestige as the cause of suffering for the rest of society.

Karl Marx wrote about this in his books, such as Das Kapital and, more notably, the Manifesto of the Communist Party. It’s a must-read and offers a perspective into Marx’s thinking and his plan for world domination of the Communist Party. Appendix A includes an edited version of this work. The original text is difficult to follow because of the terms used in the mid-1800s. This edited version merely replaces those terms with a modern vernacular, so you can at least get past page 1 without falling asleep. As you read it, keep in mind that Marx grew up during a time of monarchies; kings and rulers. The idea of private property was not widespread, and most of the working class lived as peasants. The masses lived off the land or had small shops and stores. Before the industrial revolution, people set up stakes wherever they chose and farmed the open land. That all changed with the industrial revolution and the mechanization of production.

The commoners, the proletariats, were driven from their land to make way for factories and other forms of capital. With nowhere to go, many wound up in cities or the very factories that displaced them, working under harsh conditions and for what might only be thought of as slave labor.

Marx saw the beginning of the industrial age and the legitimate struggles of the average person. It is from that perspective that his work may have some legitimacy. The plight of the common man was real, and their suffering was profound. Moreover, Marx saw the transition from feudalism to capitalism as part of an evolution. The progress of mankind, as he saw it, developed from feudalism to capitalism to Socialism and, finally … Communism. Communism, being the just and right social structure for a civilized society, would eventually materialize … it had to. His movement was, in large part, to fast-track society to its eventual end and forgo the failures each transition would bring about.

It’s hard to say, however, whether Marx was sincerely interested in rescuing the downtrodden or was it just the means to an end, or both—that is, as the leader of the labor movement … the Communist revolution, did he see the revolution as a way to really help those in struggle or merely a way of enriching himself?

It also raises the question, what would Marx do today, and would he think his ideas and philosophy still relevant?

Karl Marx was born on May 5, 1818, in Trier, a city in the kingdom of Prussia. He was the third child of nine and son of Heinrich and Henriette Marx. Prussia spread throughout the German/Czech region and even into parts of what is now Russia. It was a monarchy ruled by King Frederick William III. His parents were Jewish, by heritage, and although they were reasonably well off, they were limited by racial constrictions. Jews at the time were considered second-class citizens and limited as to what types of careers and jobs they could hold. They were primarily restricted to positions related to finance and banking. Karl’s father, born Herschel Mordechai, denounced his Jewish faith (around the time of Karl’s birth) to become a Lutheran Christian, taking the name Heinrich Marx. This allowed him to pursue a career as an attorney.

Karl was not a child of wanting. His parents and relatives had means, and for the most part, you might even consider Karl as having a relatively comfortable life growing up, especially considering the conditions of the rest of society during that time. His grandfather was the rabbi of Trier, a position his uncle would later hold. This provided a climate that would allow for his nephew Gerald Phillips to found the Philips Company (later called Philips Electronics). The point is that while growing up, Karl himself did not suffer the struggles he bemoaned throughout his revolutionary period. If anything, he squandered opportunity and spent much of his time brawling and getting drunk.

Karl was baptized into the Lutheran faith at age six. He idolized his father, but he resented the fact that he had changed the family faith. This was more of a matter of principle than anything else. Interestingly, later in life, Karl would declare himself an atheist. This was mainly due to the awareness that religion and faith interfered with his revolution. We’ll cover more on that later.

Karl was homeschooled until age twelve when he enrolled in Trier High School. He also attended the Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium (a prestigious school in Trier, where he studied math, literature, history, as well as Greek, Latin, and French). Marx left the Gymnasium at seventeen when he enrolled at the University of Bonn. The following year, he became engaged to Jenny Von Westphalia. An interesting point here is that Jenny was four years his senior; an unheard-of age reversal for the times. Jenny came from a wealthy family and would be engaged to Marx for seven years before they married.

Marx was a typical college student, which included a lively social scene. A member of the Trier Tavern drinking society, he was a loud-spoken rebel type. Heavy drinking and brawling were not unusual for him. Laughing in church and riding a donkey in town were just more ways to rebel against society. He even participated in a duel at one time. His parents, being concerned about his studies and extracurricular activities, decided to move Karl to Berlin, where he enrolled in the University of Berlin to study law. It was during this time that his parents were beginning to wonder if young Karl would ever make something of himself.

During his time at the University of Berlin, Marx became more interested in philosophy and social struggles and joined an organization called The Young Hegelians. This was a group that studied the work of German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, a well-known philosopher at the time.

Much of Marx’s work would stem from the ideas of Hegel, even though Marx considered Hegel a bit on the soft side. Hegel had died five years before Marx joined the group so that by that time, The Young Hegelians had already begun to splinter into a conservative and liberal faction; or, you might say, those that leaned toward Capitalism and those with a more Socialist view.

Marx, of course, had a growing disdain for capitalism and sided with the Socialists. Turns out, he was even too radical for that group. He considered society, in general, flawed and resented being part of it. This was the beginning of Marx working toward Communist ideas and even his own version of it—Marxism.

In 1838 Karl’s father, Heinrich Marx, died. Karl was twenty years old and devastated by this.

From here, we’ll skip through some of the highlights of the life of Karl Marx. The purpose of this chapter is not to provide a historical record of his life, which is full and complex, but rather to help answer the question, is this leader worth following? Was he a personal success that would make him worthy of admiration?

Marx continued his studies at the University of Berlin, working toward his doctorate. Having completed his studies, he worked on finishing his dissertation. However, he dragged his feet so that by the time he completed his dissertation, he’s no longer enrolled, and it’s not accepted. Not to mention, the University of Berlin was distancing itself from people like Marx. Whether his rejection was solely based on his tardiness or just that he was considered a troublemaker is up for debate. In any event, he applied for his PhD at the University of Jena and, in 1841, received a doctorate in philosophy.

The University of Jena didn’t require Marx to be a resident or apply in person, so it was considered a much easier process, causing some people to think of it as less of a degree than from other universities. Nonetheless, his formal education was over.

Also, in 1841, Marx narrowly avoided the draft into the Prussian army. His mother retained the help of a private doctor who provided the Prussian army with a report that Karl was physically unfit to serve. This was not uncommon for a family of means. From here, Marx began his career in earnest, writing for several papers, keeping one step ahead of the authorities and bill collectors.

It’s important to realize that in a feudal system, as was the case in Marx’s time, most countries were run by kings and authoritarians. The writings of Marx were considered a threat to the status quo. Much of his work was censored or even forbidden, so he was constantly at odds with the authorities. In addition, Europe was a hotbed of revolutions and protests throughout his life, making it even more tumultuous. Because of this, Marx was forced to move from city to city and country to country.

The period between 1841 and 1850 is when Marx formulated so many of his ideas. After that, most of his efforts were toward