system
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human
[Star Wars] The Empire was ran by very intelligent people, why did they attempt to rule by fear, force, and cruelty?

I get that the dark side twists and warps people until they become cartoonish villains with no redeeming, human qualities, but Palpatine was a genius strategist and not every higher up in the Empire was force sensitive.

Palpatine should be intelligent enough to know how poorly an empire full of oppressed, bitter, defeated civilians would function. 

The needless cruelty and sadism of the Empire created a state of distrust and rebellion that eventually brought it down. The average person hated the Empire. You could be arrested for treason for arguing with a Stormtrooper who had wronged you. The inquisitors preached that the Jedi were violent criminals while killing and torturing civilians.

The entire population of Lothal was killed in a genocide just to make room for industrialization, and no doubt the general responsible for that decision created dissent and anger in his troops. This is one example in a plethora of vicious war crimes.

Was Palpatine aware of the extent of corruption, sadism, and oppression that occurred in his Empire? Did he realize how inherently illogical it was, how it would create rebellion and result in inefficient work and lost productivity? Or did the dark side blind him to these flaws, convince him that raw power was sufficient?

Why were Palpatine and most of the generals of the Empire opposed to giving people their bread and circuses and making sure the average person was content and unlikely to rebel?
gpt
>Palpatine should be intelligent enough to know how poorly an empire full of oppressed, bitter, defeated civilians would function.

The oppression wasn't in service to the Empire. The Empire existed to oppress. 

The only people who rose through the ranks in such an Empire were those who either turned a blind eye to, or actively propagated, that oppression.