It seems that being a totalitarian is a very healthy career.
Totalitarians invariably outlive their opposition and often outlive their entire generation.
And, of course, there is Saddam Hussein who came to presidential power in Iraq some 22 years ago. There are millions of Iraqis and more millions outside of Iraq who wish he had made another career-choice. It isn t that he s as old as some of the other totalitarians, it s that he outlives responsible, democratic, decent and humane Iraqis. That might be because he kills them. By all criteria, Iraq should be one of the wealthiest nations in the world since it has only 22 million people and an estimated one-tenth of the world's proven oil reserves.