I know that the mere mention of Dictator carries the overtones of Authoritarianism and despotism, if not autocracy and totalitarianism in the exercise of political power.
However, my reason for preferring this type of a leader is motivated by my understanding of the origins of the term itself and the function of the one who bore it. It originated as the title of a Magistrate in ancient Rome appointed by the Senate to rule the republic in times of emergency. At the same time, reading Plato’s Republic, we see concept of the Benevolent Dictator when he (Plato) talks of the ideal society. Dividing the populace into classes, he indicates that those in the governing class should be the Philosopher kings, who wield almost complete authority on the assumption that they are completely motivated by the best interests of the society. Though he spends much of the time talking of the ideal state, he also talks of the four bad forms of Government, one of them being democracy. (The others are timocracy, oligarchy, and tyranny/despotism – but I’ll not dwell on them here).
Looking at our Kenya today there would be no fear of contradiction stating that that it is a country that has experienced the cycle of all the types government mentioned in Plato’s Republic – and the unfortunate thing is that to date we’ve never seen anybody coming embodying the characteristics of a “Philosopher King”.
We have been living under the illusion of being a democratic state, but the consequences of it are so evident. Though democracy has always been touted to be “the rule of the people…”, the one clear thing that it has also created or creates is the socioeconomic divide between the social classes. As this divide grows, so do tensions between them. Eventually as the tensions grow, the poor overthrow (through vote) the rich in the hope of granting liberties and freedoms to citizens. What happens is that an apparently appealing demagogue is soon lifted up to protect the interests of the lower class. But does he?? Suffice it to say that before arriving at a democracy, the society will have already undergone the cycles of timocracy and oligarchy.
In the democracy, after a demagogue has been elevated (in the name of “free”elections) to exercise power in the name of the people. The excessive freedoms (fortunately or unfortunately) granted to the citizens in a democracy may ultimately lead to Tyranny, which is the furthest regressed type of government. These freedoms divide the people into three socioeconomic classes: the dominating class, the capitalists and the commoners. This in my opinion reflects the present Kenyan situation. Going further we notice that the tensions between the dominating class and the capitalists cause the commoners to seek out protection of their democratic liberties (look at the criminals killing and burning others in Kenya under the pretext of fighting for justice). They invest all their power in their democratic demagogue (our political/tribal leader) who in turn, becomes corrupted by the power and becomes a tyrant with a small entourage of his supporters for protection and absolute control of his people. How else do we explain the situation whereby some people will say for example: “No Raila, no Peace, no school”? Unfortunately he keeps quiet until too late, and on its part the Government takes too long to act. To me this is Tyranny in other words!!
And now I come to my concept of a benevolent dictator.
In my opinion, he should be somebody whose mandate is restricted to those of the ancient Romans, i.e. one who invested with sweeping authority over the citizens, but their term was usually limited to six months, or the duration of the crisis. I’d insist on time limit of two to three years after which he should be changed/deposed!
He should be seen as the final decision-maker, a person who, by virtue of personality and experience, is expected to use it wisely. He should be seen as a community-approved arbitrator or judge. (This is where my concept of Plato’s Philosopher King comes in). It is not that he should actually make all the decisions, or even most of the decisions because it is unlikely that one person could have enough expertise to do all that alone. Instead, they should let things work themselves out through discussion and experimentation whenever possible. Only when it is clear that no consensus can be reached soon and that most of the group wants someone to guide the decision, do they put their foot down and show the way things should be. (Kibaki seemed to have had this inclination but he seemed to have failed in “putting his feet down” when it mattered most).
Finally, just like the benevolent dictator just in line with a philosopher king should not be self-centred because this would be big-minus to what being benevolent ought to be.
It is unfortunate that the institutions of our liberal democracy have become badly corroded by endemic corruption and dishonesty, not only at the edges but in their very cores, and many Kenyans, especially among the middle class, have despaired that anyone within the current power structure, whether administration or opposition, can ever fix our almost broken down country.
And not to appear like someone who only sees doom and only darkness at the end of the tunnel, I also agree with you that nations, just like individuals, do possess an infinite capacity for change. We hope Kenya’s turn will come soon!
However, my reason for preferring this type of a leader is motivated by my understanding of the origins of the term itself and the function of the one who bore it. It originated as the title of a Magistrate in ancient Rome appointed by the Senate to rule the republic in times of emergency. At the same time, reading Plato’s Republic, we see concept of the Benevolent Dictator when he (Plato) talks of the ideal society. Dividing the populace into classes, he indicates that those in the governing class should be the Philosopher kings, who wield almost complete authority on the assumption that they are completely motivated by the best interests of the society. Though he spends much of the time talking of the ideal state, he also talks of the four bad forms of Government, one of them being democracy. (The others are timocracy, oligarchy, and tyranny/despotism – but I’ll not dwell on them here).
Looking at our Kenya today there would be no fear of contradiction stating that that it is a country that has experienced the cycle of all the types government mentioned in Plato’s Republic – and the unfortunate thing is that to date we’ve never seen anybody coming embodying the characteristics of a “Philosopher King”.
We have been living under the illusion of being a democratic state, but the consequences of it are so evident. Though democracy has always been touted to be “the rule of the people…”, the one clear thing that it has also created or creates is the socioeconomic divide between the social classes. As this divide grows, so do tensions between them. Eventually as the tensions grow, the poor overthrow (through vote) the rich in the hope of granting liberties and freedoms to citizens. What happens is that an apparently appealing demagogue is soon lifted up to protect the interests of the lower class. But does he?? Suffice it to say that before arriving at a democracy, the society will have already undergone the cycles of timocracy and oligarchy.
In the democracy, after a demagogue has been elevated (in the name of “free”elections) to exercise power in the name of the people. The excessive freedoms (fortunately or unfortunately) granted to the citizens in a democracy may ultimately lead to Tyranny, which is the furthest regressed type of government. These freedoms divide the people into three socioeconomic classes: the dominating class, the capitalists and the commoners. This in my opinion reflects the present Kenyan situation. Going further we notice that the tensions between the dominating class and the capitalists cause the commoners to seek out protection of their democratic liberties (look at the criminals killing and burning others in Kenya under the pretext of fighting for justice). They invest all their power in their democratic demagogue (our political/tribal leader) who in turn, becomes corrupted by the power and becomes a tyrant with a small entourage of his supporters for protection and absolute control of his people. How else do we explain the situation whereby some people will say for example: “No Raila, no Peace, no school”? Unfortunately he keeps quiet until too late, and on its part the Government takes too long to act. To me this is Tyranny in other words!!
And now I come to my concept of a benevolent dictator.
In my opinion, he should be somebody whose mandate is restricted to those of the ancient Romans, i.e. one who invested with sweeping authority over the citizens, but their term was usually limited to six months, or the duration of the crisis. I’d insist on time limit of two to three years after which he should be changed/deposed!
He should be seen as the final decision-maker, a person who, by virtue of personality and experience, is expected to use it wisely. He should be seen as a community-approved arbitrator or judge. (This is where my concept of Plato’s Philosopher King comes in). It is not that he should actually make all the decisions, or even most of the decisions because it is unlikely that one person could have enough expertise to do all that alone. Instead, they should let things work themselves out through discussion and experimentation whenever possible. Only when it is clear that no consensus can be reached soon and that most of the group wants someone to guide the decision, do they put their foot down and show the way things should be. (Kibaki seemed to have had this inclination but he seemed to have failed in “putting his feet down” when it mattered most).
Finally, just like the benevolent dictator just in line with a philosopher king should not be self-centred because this would be big-minus to what being benevolent ought to be.
It is unfortunate that the institutions of our liberal democracy have become badly corroded by endemic corruption and dishonesty, not only at the edges but in their very cores, and many Kenyans, especially among the middle class, have despaired that anyone within the current power structure, whether administration or opposition, can ever fix our almost broken down country.
And not to appear like someone who only sees doom and only darkness at the end of the tunnel, I also agree with you that nations, just like individuals, do possess an infinite capacity for change. We hope Kenya’s turn will come soon!
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