Hubris – The Road to Donald Trump by David Owen
Summary
Pride comes before the fall. Indeed, it does. David Owen’s Hubris examines the age-old problem of political overconfidence through the lens of classical thought, psychology, and recent history. For Owen, hubris is the intoxication of power: it is leaders who become convinced of their own righteousness, contemptuous of advice, and finally blind to reality. He illustrates his thesis with examples from Churchill, Thatcher, Blair, and Bush, arguing that hubris syndrome is not only a personal failing but an ever-present danger in politics and international relations.
David Owen, a former UK Foreign Secretary and a senior statesman, writes with the authority of both a practising politician and a medical doctor, giving his account of hubris syndrome unusual depth and credibility.
Key Insights
The nature of hubris:
- Russell described power as an intoxicant.
- Plato defined hubris as acts demonstrating superiority.
- Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, inevitably follows hubris.
- Traits include restlessness, overconfidence, contempt for opponents, disregard for advice, and belief in one’s accountability only to God or history.
Narcissism and power:
- Narcissism is the belief that the world exists for oneself.
- In politics, this manifests in image management, the “royal we,” and identification of self with state (“I am the state”).
Historical and modern case studies:
- Coriolanus is presented as a classical study in hubris.
- Churchill ignored warnings about unfair manifesto pledges, dismissing critics with disdain.
- Thatcher meticulously prepared for the miners’ strike, but success went to her head, leading to the disastrous poll tax.
- Saddam Hussein epitomised violent hubris, murdering opponents abroad, gassing Kurds, and exploiting Western hypocrisy on international law.
- Clinton is mocked for his Churchillian tones; his cruise missile strike on Iraq after an assassination attempt reflects reactive overconfidence.
- Tony Blair emerges as Owen’s central case: inexperienced, restless, dismissive of advice, overconfident in Iraq, and contemptuous of cabinet government. He embodied Dixon’s “psychology of military incompetence”—wastage, underestimation of the enemy, ignoring intelligence. His belief in his own moral purity excused reckless decisions.
- George W. Bush shared Blair’s delusions of divine mission, compounded by a history of alcoholism and moral self-certainty.
How to avoid hubris:
- Reject the trappings of power.
- Seek proper advice and respect rules.
- Pay attention to detail and preparation (as Thatcher initially did).
- Maintain humility before institutions and colleagues.
Strengths
Uses classical, literary, and psychological frameworks to ground the analysis.
Clear identification of recurring patterns across very different leaders.
Particularly strong critique of Blair’s premiership, linking his psychology with catastrophic policy failures.
Highlights the international double standards in applying “the rule of law.”
Weaknesses
Somewhat uneven case studies: Saddam and Bush are sketched more briefly, while Blair dominates the narrative.
The psychology of hubris is explored through traits, but Owen doesn’t fully systematise it as a diagnostic tool.
At times the critique risks being moralistic rather than analytical.
Reflections
Owen’s concept of “hubris syndrome” is compelling precisely because it resonates with ancient wisdom and modern political failure alike. The traits he lists, such as overconfidence, disdain, lack of preparation, and belief in a divine mission, are recognisable in the leaders throughout history. The most sobering insight is how hubris is often fed by early successes: Thatcher’s victory over the miners, Blair’s electoral triumphs, Bush’s Gulf War inheritance, all of which bred the fatal overconfidence that followed.
The book stands as both a cautionary tale and a call for humility in leadership. At the end of the day, pride is an all-too-human failing, and no one is immune to it: not the presidents and prime ministers, nor the humble software engineer and book reviewer.
Conclusion
Hubris is a penetrating study of political arrogance and its consequences. David Owen’s argument that hubris syndrome should be seen as a recognisable political pathology is persuasive, if not fully codified. By weaving together philosophy, psychology, and political history, Owen warns that leaders intoxicated by power pose a recurrent danger to democracy and international stability. The book stands as both a cautionary tale and a call for humility in leadership.
Book Details
Title: Hubris – The Road to Donald Trump
Author: David Owen
Publication Year: 2018
Genre: Political Science
Reference: Calandra 6, 12
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