For those not in the know, the world of the Hunger Games has often drawn flak for how unrealistic some of it is. Namely, how the dictatorship presented in the world of Panem is too unrealistic. Many people have complained that the Capitol as it stood would not last, that such a wasteful, decadent society that does nothing but turn its citizens against it would never come to be in the form that it is.

After all, in real life, dictatorships have a standard set of “rules” that they usually play by. They turn their civilians against a foreign enemy, they try their best to hide how decadent the ruling class is, and any flaunting of military might is hidden by justifications or the hunting of imaginary threats. All rules which the Capitol does not seem to play by.

But the thing is, this isn’t supposed to be a Bolshevik type revolution or an American type revolution, born out of anger and hatred for the ruling classes and their disastrous policies, perceived injustices and a desire for self determination. This is a French monarchy type of rulership. The French monarchy was powerful and normally competent for centuries, before decades of decadence, laziness and overconfidence caused their downfall.

Hate it or not, the Capitol most likely did a decent job post-apocalypse. If an apocalyptic event strong enough to tear apart all the nations of America occurred, and a new country rose out of the ashes, and this country tore itself apart in civil war again, and the survivors can STILL rebuild, the base must be solid, no matter how oppressed and impoverished the citizens are. But by the events of he books, the Capitol has gotten used to easy victory. After all, we’re told its reliant on the districts for everything, and managed to beat them quite handily in the first civil war. So the idea that it would completely neglect its civilians, confident that its military might is sufficient to quell any threats, isn’t too far fetched.

Usually enough

And before you tell me that a real dictatorship would turn its citizens against another threat, well, what would you call Districts 1 and 2 then? They’re meant to be the internal traitors, the Benedict Arnolds of the world, so that the citizens would hate them in place of the Capital. In exchange the Capitol gets a buffer and a confirmed constant supply of loyal soldiers. And the idea of external threats wouldn’t work, the Capitol gets legitimacy in many minds as it is the only country left.

tl;dr To us the flaws are apparent, to the people in the HG world the dictatorship was strong enough to last indefinitely if not for a handful of berries.

“Let Them Eat Cake”: Why the Capitol Actually Isn’t Unrealistic