Fun math - how many people needed to run a dictatorship?

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

Theory: Insane insane people, like the Kims from North Korea, need to have backing. There need to be people who support the evil man in order for him to stay in power. People who live the "high life", who gets the benefits from this corrupted system. Look at the Generals of NK, or the "tribe" that support Hussein, or "party brass" in former Communist states.

I'm wondering what number ratio you think is needed to maintain a dictatorship. How many? 4% of the population, or, 1 in 25? That'd mean that of every 25 people, 1 of them is really benefiting from the system. I don't mean a little better off, like "middle class" for the country, but I mean REALLY getting benefit to the point that he'd fight - either with violence of other forms of pressure, like monetary support, or trying to convince others etc - to save the system.

I've included a huge scale, from 4% way down to 1 in a million. Pick the number you think is closest.

For the cynical, include the current Corporate-Military-Industrial complex of the USA. Supposedly it's 1% in this particular case.

edit - I've included a 1 in 10 option.

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

My personal guess is about 1 in 2,500, or .04%

[memphis]

Depends on the quality of said dictator's weapons and his willingness to use them.

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

medium to poor quality, and very willing.

[minionofmidas]

Theory: Insane insane people, like the Kims from North Korea

Huh? The Middle Kim sure was kinky, but if that's madness there is method to it. We don't really know anything about the son, and the old man was about as sane as a brutal dictator could conceivably get.

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

500 and 10,000 seem to be the most popular answers so far

[2952-0-0]

From what I understood talking to very ordinary Chinese people, people openly admit they join the Party purely and unabashedly out of opportunism. About 5% of Chinese people are Party members, and every level of government and many private firms have a "Party Committee" which must be listened to, and which reports to higher powers.

The downside of having such a patronage-dependent regime is that in the event of a crisis like in Egypt, Party members will quickly desert en masse, leaving an Inner Party which fights for its survival. I'd say in China about 0.5% of the population are true Party members who will actually fight if push comes to shove. But they have vastly disproportionate power, so don't test them.