Ask Lemmy

Overtime I must imagine I'll be petty as fuck, but starting out I'm just making sure public transport and education are taken care of. Mostly by hiring smarter people than me to make my dream of not having to own a car a reality.

Yes, but I would try to avoid it as much as possible because that's what we call in Spain "un marrón que te cagas" that only demented people want for themselves.

How many Philosopher Kings do we have here?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosopher_king

Me, yes. 😊

No, because "benevolent dictatorship" can't exist (the only benevolent action of such a dictatorship would be self-abolishment).

Yes, vote for me.

I doubt I would be a benevolent dictator. I am a good person mostly through sheer force of will, not by nature. I abhor cruelty — yet I'd gleefully inflict misery upon those who practice it.

I suspect over time that would erode the thin façade of beneficence within which my rage lies cocooned.

No. No one can.

Depends how you define "evil". And if I was hungry or tired when I got this power.

There's good odds like every Republican official and donor would go directly into a bad time. Some would say that's evil.

I would try to turn into a wurm. Maybe my son will finish my work.

No

I might still be young enough to pull that off for a few more years yet.

The way I would implement that is to day one set a date for elections of a congress and my own retirement. I'm imagining a Mars Attacks scenario in which the ak ak ak aliens blow up congress and the government of the United States consists of the President's teenage daughter and a mariachi band. If through some set of goofy circumstances no meaningful government exists above me and I am in full command, we're gonna do shit my way for, say, four years, and then we're calling a congress. At which time I retire to a small estate somewhere in the Carolinas with only ceremonial powers, like I reserve the right to throw out first pitches of baseball games.

Benevolent dictator is an oxymoron. The most benevolent thing a dictator can do is dismantle their dictatorship.

Hael No!

I'd end up making a dystopic country/nation where people are suffering while I get the brightest scientists to work on genetically modifying the human body so I could become closer to looking like my fursona.

That, and having people on the far left and far right being thrown into prison.

Just normal every day things from someone who's a little paranoid.

I would be completely stressed out, like people would wanna kill me and stuff for being a dictator, so I'd just renounce, run away and get a new identity (not sure how one "gets" a new identity though). Also, managing a country by myself? Too hard, what orders am I even meant to give?

Maybe if I had a few years to reorganise myself, and that's a big maybe. I've never much cared for money, power, and I'm empathetic to a fault, but being in different environments causes people to change.

The biggest challenge would be staying in touch with the population. You would need a good team of people that represent the interests of human existence and happiness. At that point it's sounding closer to a democracy anyway.

From there, there's obvious moves. Find the biggest sources of misery and damage, reform or just straight up tear it out and start again. You'd need to move moderately slow, moving quickly destabilizes people too much and that is often not worth the cost. Raise social safety nets, try to turn the system from working to survive into one where working to get nice shit.

I feel like I might bankrupt whichever system I'm put in charge of though. Economics was never my strong suit, and I probably would start ignoring economic realities in favour of human existence.

I guess. I mean the end game of benevolent dictator is no longer being the dictator. Sort of like Atatürk

Yeah pretty sure all evil deeds start with good intentions. So, no. I would very likely mess up my own head by thinking I’m doing the right thing, and if I’m secure in my position as the leader, I’d have a big load of yes men hovering around enforcing and enabling my every thought and idea, be it good or not. Most likely it’ll tend towards the “not good” side over time, and at some point everything just gets distorted and convoluted and by that point, there’ll be no return. And if I’m not secure in my position, then I’ll be dead and replaced before I can spell out my first decree as the ruler. If I’m to be good, I’ll not be ready for the bad coming my way. If I’m ready for the bad shit, I have to be ready to dispense my own bad shit. And that, then, wraps into my first point.

There’s no way that would work if I was truly benevolent. I don’t believe it’s sustainable or even possible to lead as a dictator that is good or benevolent.

yeah, easily

the problem is staying on top of things to ensure my government doesn't do things on the side. that sounds exhausting

so, I'd be fine, but I wouldn't be able to keep government clean. I don't have those skills

but if everyone does as they're told? no issues

No, but I'll give it the old college try. I've always imagined that the only way to be a benevolent dictator is to do the dictator thing only to install a better form of government to replace you and hope it sticks when you step away. Something more technocratic and with better checks and balances.

Nobody can.

I would probably try to make a form of voting system to get myself out of the role as fast as i can

But not before giving trans people rights

I'd be a watchdog, not a dictator. I think that's the better use of that power. And if I had an idea then I'd take it to the same process as the rest of the laws and have a vote on it.

Yes, and it's because I'm too lazy to do any actual dictator shit.

The trick is to set a reasonable limit for political assassinations and idiotic massive construction projects ahead of time, and then keep to those limits.

Sure, for the low price of a lifetime pension I'll benevolently dismantle the oligarchy; ban guns; make cars luxury items; massively expand mass transit; and bring in universal health and education!

Just ignore the claims that I've actually jailed or killed my opposition; held the families of so called "freedom fighters" so they'll turn themselves and their buddies in; made travel outside your area and healthcare impossible without government approval; and completely changed the history everyone learns.

Okay that's obviously pretty extreme. Just a reminder that if you're not careful even well intentioned dictatorships can be very oppressive. And every dictatorship is on a timer to a coup or revolution. And resetting that timer is not pretty. The only way off the treadmill is to have elections again.

One can not be a dictator and benevolent

Nah, that's why you set up a system of checks to determine if you should be assassinated and succession in case of it. Bonus points if your advisors assassinate body doubles to retire you instead.