Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith start by dispelling the myth that “malevolent despots, greedy Wall Street bankers, and unctuous oil barons” behave poorly because they are flawed individuals (ix). Bueno de Mesquita and Smith argue instead that political leaders are following a set of rules whereby bad behavior is good politics.

There are five rules that leaders can use to succeed in any political or business system. First, leaders need to keep their key supporters (or winning coalition) as small as possible. By keeping the coalition small, leaders only have to rely on a few people to stay in power. Second, leaders’ cronies (which are their essential supporters) need to believe that they are easily replaceable. This belief ensures that the cronies remain loyal and well behaved. Third, leaders need to control the cash flow. The best cash flow is one that allows leaders to redistribute the money to their cronies to keep them wealthy and supportive. Leaders also need to pay their key supporters just enough to keep them loyal. Finally, a leader cannot be too cheap towards their supporters. If the leader uses money that should go to the supporters for the everyday people instead, it is likely that their supporters will turn on them and remove them from office.