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Encyclopedia > Benevolent dictatorship

The benevolent dictator is a more modern version of the classical "enlightened despot", being an undemocratic or authoritarian leader who exercises his or her political power for the benefit of the people rather than exclusively for his or her own self-interest or benefit, or for the benefit of only a small portion of the people. A benevolent dictator, for example, may focus government priorities on matters of public importance, such as healthcare, education, or general city infrastructure. He may be committed to peaceful relations, rather than wars or invasions of other states. He may even allow for some democratic decision-making to exist, such as through public referendums. Enlightened Absolutism (also known as benevolent despotism or enlightened despotism) is a term used to describe the actions of absolute rulers who were influenced by the Enlightenment, a historical period of the 18th and early 19th centuries. ... The term authoritarian is used to describe an organization or a state which enforces strong and sometimes oppressive measures against the population, generally without attempts at gaining the consent of the population. ... Health care or healthcare is one of the worlds largest and fastest growing professions. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Ballots of the Argentine plebiscite of 1984 on the border treaty with Chile A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ...


The concept of the benevolent dictator originates with Plato in The Republic [citation needed], a speculation on the ideal society. Plato divides the populace into classes. Those in the governing class are the "Philosopher kings", who wield almost complete authority on the assumption that they are completely motivated by the best interests of the society. For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... The Republic (Greek ) is an influential work of philosophy and political theory by the Greek philosopher Plato, written in approximately 360 BC. It is written in the format of a Socratic dialogue. ... Philosopher-kings are the hypothetical rulers of Platos utopian Kallipolis. ...


Most dictators' regimes unfailingly portray themselves as benevolent, and often tend to regard democratic regimes as messy, inefficient, and corrupt. Additionally, many dictators may attempt to openly spread misinformation about their benevolence in an attempt to create a personality cult. Adolf Hitler built a strong cult of personality, based on the Führerprinzip. ...


Like many political classifications, the title of benevolent dictator suffers from its inherent subjectivity. Such leaders as Alexander the Great, Ioannis Metaxas, Lee Kuan Yew, Benito Mussolini, Julius Caesar, Oliver Cromwell, Augusto Pinochet, Napoleon Bonaparte, Francisco Franco, Rahimuddin Khan, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Kenneth Kaunda, Anwar Sadat, António de Oliveira Salazar, Juan Perón, Fidel Castro and Kaiser Wilhelm II have been characterized by their supporters as benevolent dictators [citation needed]. In all these cases it depends largely on one's point of view as to just how "benevolent" they were or are. In many cases dictators who serve in office for a very lengthy period are more likely to be regarded as benevolent, for the simple reason that they will often be forced to pay some attention to the public's interests in order to remain in power, and more importantly, be regarded as politically legitimate. Dictators who hold office for a brief period of time, or are simply members of a rotating dictatorial elite (for example see the Generals) may have less charismatic authority and prove to be forgettable and easier to demonize. Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history. ... Ioannis Metaxas Ioannis Metaxas (Greek Ιωάννης Μεταξάς, April 12, 1871 – January 29, 1941) was a Greek General and the Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is 李 (Li) Lee Kuan Yew, CH (Chinese: ; pinyin: Lǐ Guāngyào; born September 16, 1923; also spelled Lee Kwan-Yew), was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. ... Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945) was the prime minister and dictator of Italy from 1922 until 1943, when he was overthrown from power. ... Gāius JÅ«lius Caesar (IPA: ;[1]), July 12 or July 13, 100 BC – March 15, 44 BC) was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men in world history. ... Oliver Cromwell (April 25, 1599–September 3, 1658) was an English military and political leader best known for making England a republic and leading the Commonwealth of England. ... Augusto Pinochet Ugarte[1] (born November 25, 1915) was head of the military junta that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, and which came to power in a coup which deposed the marxist President Salvador Allende. ... Napoleon I Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Mediator of the Swiss Confederation and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution, the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from... Franco redirects here. ... General Rahimuddin Khan (Urdu: جرنل رحیم الدین خان ) (born 21 July 1926) held the dual posts of Corps Commander and Governor of Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan, during the regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. ... Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–November 10, 1938), until 1934 Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha, Turkish army officer and revolutionary statesman, was the founder and the first President of the Republic of Turkey. ... Kenneth Kaunda Kenneth David Kaunda, commonly known as KK (born April 28, 1924) was the first President of Zambia (1964–1991). ... Muhammad Anwar Al-Sadat (محمد أنورالسادات in Arabic) (December 25, 1918 – October 6, 1981) was an Egyptian politician and served as the third President of Egypt from September 28, 1970 until his assassination on October 6, 1981. ... Doutor António de Oliveira Salazar (April 28, 1889—July 27, 1970) was the President of the Council of Ministers of Portugal (Prime Minister) and the de facto dictator of the Portuguese Republic from 1932 to 1968. ... Juan Domingo Perón (October 8, 1895 – July 1, 1974) was an Argentine soldier and politician, elected three times as President of Argentina from 1946 to 1955 and from 1973 to 1974. ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba but on indefinite medical hiatus. ... William II or Wilhelm II (born Frederick William Albert Victor; German: Friedrich Wilhelm Albert Victor) (27 January 1859–4 June 1941), was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia (German: Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen), ruling both the German Empire and Prussia from 15 June 1888... Legitimacy is the popular acceptance of a governing regime or law. ... The Generals is a common nickname that is often applied to the rulers of a military dictatorship as in a Junta. ... Jesus is considered by historians such as Weber to be an example of a charismatic religious leader; The sociologist Max Weber defined charismatic authority as resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained...


In the Spanish language, the word dictablanda is sometimes used for a dictatorship conserving some of the liberties and mechanisms of democracy. (The pun is that, in Spanish, dictadura is "dictatorship", dura is "hard" and blanda is "soft"). Dictablanda is a word used by political scientists to describe a dictatorship in which civil liberties are mostly preserved rather than destroyed. ...


Open source "benevolent dictators"

In the context of open source projects, a "benevolent dictator" (or Benevolent Dictator for Life) is the person that effectively holds dictator-like powers over that project, yet is trusted by other users/developers not to abuse this power. The term is used humorously, because the "subjects" of the project leader contribute voluntarily, and the end-product may be used by everyone. A dictator in this context has power only over the process, and that only for as long as he or she is trusted. Examples include, among others, Linus Torvalds, Guido van Rossum, and Larry Wall. Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This is an alphabetically sorted list of software products or projects and people often considered as Benevolent Dictators for Life for these projects. ... Linus Benedict Torvalds (born December 28, 1969 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish software engineer best known for initiating the development of the Linux kernel. ... Guido van Rossum is a computer programmer who is best-known as the author and Benevolent Dictator for Life of the Python programming language. ... Larry Wall (b. ...


See also


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His responsibilities include protecting the integrity of the newly formed #nipponsei benevolent dictatorship, ordering the lower ranking members of the #nipponsei benevolent military to perform the various tasks necessary for the smooth operations of the government, and keeping PlusVee happy.
If GeneralSmoker is the head of the #nipponsei benevolent dictatorship, kassatsu might be called the tail; that is the part of the leadership which is hidden, nobody really knows about, and does the dirty work.
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The good and the bad of dictatorships | Ask MetaFilter (4030 words)
Dictatorship has the same inherent human resource problem as democracy: by and large, the people who apply for the job (dictator, senator, dog catcher) aren't the ones who are qualified for it, and the people who are qualified know better than to apply.
The problem of a dictatorship (or, to be historically accurate with terminology, an authoritarian regime; a dictatorship was considered part of republican government before the 20th century) is that state power is not inherently neutral.
In the modern sense, a "benevolent" dictatorship is a myth that is soaked with oceans of blood.
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