Benevolent dictatorship
Encyclopedia
Benevolent dictatorship is a form of government in which an authoritarian leader exercises political power for the benefit of the whole population rather than exclusively for his or her own self-interest or benefit or for the benefit of only a small portion of the population. A benevolent dictator may allow for some democratic decision-making to exist, such as through public referendum
s.
According to the Donella Meadows Archive
former prime minister of Singapore
Lee Kuan Yew
was a benevolent dictator.
British journalist Alistair Cooke
described Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidency of the United States of America in the two years from his inauguration to the Supreme Court
's declaration that the National Recovery Administration was unconstitutional, as a benevolent dictatorship.
s' regimes portray themselves as benevolent, often tending to regard democratic regimes as messy, inefficient, and corrupt
, but few are widely viewed as such outside their country or supporters. Such leaders as Napoleon Bonaparte, Fidel Castro
, Josip Broz Tito
, Ho Chi Minh
, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
and others have generally characterized themselves as "benevolent dictators".
In the Spanish language
, the pun 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". Analoguely, the same pun is made in Portuguese
as ditabranda. In February 2009, the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo ran an editorial classifying the military dictatorship in Brazil (1964-1985) as a "ditabranda", creating controversy.
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
s.
According to the Donella Meadows Archive
Donella Meadows
Donella H. "Dana" Meadows was a pioneering American environmental scientist, teacher and writer. She is best known as lead author of the influential book The Limits to Growth, which made headlines around the world.- Life :Born in Elgin, Illinois, Meadows was educated in science, receiving a B.A...
former prime minister of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
was a benevolent dictator.
British journalist Alistair Cooke
Alistair Cooke
Alfred Alistair Cooke KBE was a British/American journalist, television personality and broadcaster. Outside his journalistic output, which included Letter from America and Alistair Cooke's America, he was well known in the United States as the host of PBS Masterpiece Theater from 1971 to 1992...
described Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidency of the United States of America in the two years from his inauguration to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
's declaration that the National Recovery Administration was unconstitutional, as a benevolent dictatorship.
Characteristics
Many dictatorDictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
s' regimes portray themselves as benevolent, often tending to regard democratic regimes as messy, inefficient, and corrupt
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
, but few are widely viewed as such outside their country or supporters. Such leaders as Napoleon Bonaparte, Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
, Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
, Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
and others have generally characterized themselves as "benevolent dictators".
In the Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, the pun word dictablanda
Dictablanda
"Dictablanda" is a word used by political scientists to describe a dictatorship in which civil liberties are allegedly preserved rather than destroyed. The word dictablanda is a portmanteau of the Spanish words dictadura and blanda...
is sometimes used for a dictatorship conserving some of the liberties and mechanisms of democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
. The pun is that, in Spanish, dictadura is "dictatorship", dura is "hard" and blanda is "soft". Analoguely, the same pun is made in Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
as ditabranda. In February 2009, the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo ran an editorial classifying the military dictatorship in Brazil (1964-1985) as a "ditabranda", creating controversy.
See also
- Benevolent Dictator For LifeBenevolent Dictator For LifeBenevolent Dictator For Life is a title given to a small number of open-source software-development leaders, typically project founders who retain the final say in disputes or arguments within the community....
, for the related concept in Free and open source softwareFree and open source softwareFree and open-source software or free/libre/open-source software is software that is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code... - Enlightened absolutismEnlightened absolutismEnlightened absolutism is a form of absolute monarchy or despotism in which rulers were influenced by the Enlightenment. Enlightened monarchs embraced the principles of the Enlightenment, especially its emphasis upon rationality, and applied them to their territories...
- Philosopher kingPhilosopher kingPhilosopher kings are the rulers, or Guardians, of Plato's Utopian Kallipolis. If his ideal city-state is to ever come into being, "philosophers [must] become kings…or those now called kings [must]…genuinely and adequately philosophize" .-In Book VI of The Republic:Plato defined a philosopher...