The constant need to maintain the elaborate façade also demands an unsustainable expenditure of national resources. A dictator must divert massive amounts of talent, time, and money away from productive sectors—like education, healthcare, and infrastructure—to fund the massive security apparatus, the propaganda ministry, and the endless stream of public ceremonies. This misallocation of resources inevitably stunts economic growth, which in turn feeds the very dissatisfaction the propaganda was meant to suppress. The cost of the lie becomes the cause of its demise.
