Here we go again. Another day, another politician deciding that the only person smart enough to run the world is the guy he sees in the mirror every morning. This time, we are looking at Vietnam. The big news is about a man named To Lam. He was already the head of the Communist Party. In a place like Vietnam, that is the job that actually matters. That is where the real power is. But apparently, having the most power wasn’t enough for him. He got bored. He wanted the fancy title, too. So now, he is going to be the President as well.

He is taking two jobs. He is consolidating power. That is the fancy way of saying he is grabbing all the toys in the sandbox and refusing to share. He wants to be the party boss and the state boss. It is a classic move. We have seen this before. It is the same thing they do in China. It is the same thing they do in half the countries run by people who love the sound of their own voice. They look around the room, see other people with jobs, and think, "I could do that better." Or, more accurately, they think, "I don't want that guy to have any power, so I will just take it for myself."

Of course, he isn't just saying, "I want more power." No, that would be too honest. Politicians are physically incapable of being honest. It would kill them. Instead, To Lam is pledging a "New Era of Prosperity." I love that line. It is the greatest hit in the history of political lying. Every single time a guy grabs total control, he promises a "New Era." It is never just an "Okay Era." It is never a "Same Old Stuff Era." It is always shiny and new. He promises that everyone is going to get rich. He promises that the sun will shine brighter and the birds will sing louder now that he has two business cards instead of one.

Let’s be real for a second. This "prosperity" usually doesn't trickle down to the guy selling soup on the street corner. The prosperity usually sticks to the fingers of the people at the top. But the people have to clap anyway. They have to nod and smile and pretend that having one guy control everything is a great idea. It is the theater of politics. The script is terrible, but you are forced to watch the play.

To Lam used to be the top security official. He was the top cop. He spent a lot of time leading an "anti-corruption" campaign. That sounds nice, doesn't it? Who likes corruption? Nobody. But let me tell you a secret about politics in these kinds of systems. "Anti-corruption" campaigns are rarely about cleaning up the streets. They are about cleaning out your enemies. It is a very convenient tool. You look at the guy who might want your job, you find some dirt on him—or you make some up—and you throw him in jail. You call it justice. I call it eliminating the competition. By the time the dust settles, look at that! You are the only one left standing. What a lucky coincidence.

But here is the funny part about the news story. It says this new power grab comes with "new risks." You think? When you make yourself the only person in charge, you become the single point of failure. It is like putting all your eggs in one basket, and then giving that basket to a guy who is drunk on his own importance. If the economy crashes, it’s on him. If the lights go out, it’s on him. If the price of rice goes through the roof, there is nobody else to blame. He can’t point to the President and say, "It was that guy's fault," because he is that guy. He is talking to himself.

Not that it matters. When things go wrong, guys like this never accept the blame anyway. They will blame the weather. They will blame bad luck. They will blame foreign countries. They will blame invisible ghosts before they admit they messed up. That is how the game works.

The world is watching this and shrugging. The West pretends to care about democracy, but let’s be honest. As long as Vietnam keeps making cheap sneakers and electronics, nobody in Washington or London is going to lose sleep over To Lam taking a second job. The global economy runs on cheap labor and stability. If one guy holding all the power keeps the factories running, the big money guys are happy. They don't care about the "New Era." They care about the quarterly earnings report.

So, congratulations to To Lam. He won the game. He collected all the pieces. He is the boss of the party and the boss of the state. He can have meetings with himself. He can argue with himself and always win. It must be nice to be so important. For the rest of the people in Vietnam, and honestly for the rest of us watching this stupid show around the world, nothing really changes. The names change, the titles change, but the grift stays the same. The powerful get more powerful, and everyone else just hopes they don't get stepped on.