Benevolent dictator
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
The concept of the benevolent dictator originates with Plato in The Republic [1], 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.
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.
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, Jerry Rawlings, Benito Mussolini, Julius Caesar, Oliver Cromwell, Augusto Pinochet, Napoleon Bonaparte, Sadam Hussein, Francisco Franco, Rahimuddin Khan, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Kenneth Kaunda, Anwar Sadat, António de Oliveira Salazar, Juan Perón, Fidel Castro, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Edward Gierek 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.
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").
[edit] Open source "benevolent dictators"
In the context of open source projects, a "benevolent dictator" is the person who 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 Guido van Rossum, and Larry Wall.
