How to Conquer the World

A medieval mongol warrior, artist unknown

In modern times, is it possible to launch a campaign of global domination and succeed? Before the modern era, it seems embarking on a crusade for world conquest was simpler. All you needed were enough hungry men with nothing better to do, horses, weapons, some strategy and leadership and then bingo, that was your base for global domination. Things are more complex now in the modern world. So is world conquest still an achievable goal?

Personally, I think that it may be even more possible to unite the world under one dominion today than it was in the medieval past. With the global network of trade, communication, travel, people, etc., the base of options are wider and opportunities much closer and within reach for each individual. You just need to have the money, knowledge, and connections to make things happen.

So what would be a feasible plan to embark on regarding a mission of conquest? Most dictators for example will stay within their local domain of cultural heritage and you do not see many cross-continental wars occurring post 1950. They seemed to have been cowed by the modern capitalist republics and their military power, which is based on a rich tax source produced by the free market model. But then again, the Soviets had an immense military capacity based on a communist/socialist model. It seems that an aspiring world ruler can operate under either the communist or capitalist system, and can potentially gain power under either a democratic or totalitarian government. Personal preferences aside (mine being democratic and socialist/capitalist), how does one become a ruler of a kingdom of his own, not necessarily a country much less the entire world (my ambitions are aimed at the local kingdom level)?

You need a plan in order to gain a kingdom of your own. In general, you need to amass resources, economic, social, and political (especially economic). Then you leverage all of those resources towards your goal, obviously in this particular case as specified by the premise, which is obtaining rulership of your own "kingdom". Kingdom to me means the sum total of domestic and socio-political power. Domestic power to me means a house (such as a palace complex), land, wealth, ownership of goods, technology and labor (servants, specialized professionals). Socio-political power is control of the social and governmental environment (having a high class rank, possessing above normal legal resources, access to higher education, government influence), also an ability to influence society through religion, media, politics, or business (in the socialist and capitalist societies). So the key is reaching a certain level in these fields in order to be able to do those various things you have in mind.

When you have a complex plan, it is often the case that you need to do something else before you can do the big plan, first by reaching a medium step, and then to take that medium step, you have to execute a smaller plan first. It is like trying to reach the top floor from the lobby, you have to get to the in-between floors first, and to do that you have to take all of the steps in between to reach the next floor, hence you can climb to the top. This is assuming that it is not possible to jump that far from where you are at, if this is not the scenario you find yourself in, then by all means take the leap for it. 

To answer the premise of this entry, "How to Conquer the World", my answer is this, that it seems unlikely to me that I can achieve even a kingdom (which is my goal) if I do not first attain a huge fortune (living in a mainly capitalist republic). I do not have an exact plan for how to do this as of yet, and my current resources, training, education, and status are all at a novice level. But I am working on this and making progress.