From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section has multiple issues: It needs additional references or sources for verification. Tagged since December 2007. Its tone or style may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Tagged since November 2007. Please help improve the article or discuss these issues on the talk page.

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, population control, or general city infrastructure.^[1] He or she may be committed to peaceful relations, rather than wars or invasions of other states, and 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 Napoleon Bonaparte, Fidel Castro, Augusto Pinochet, Francisco Franco, the Medici and others have been characterized by their supporters as benevolent dictators. In all these cases it depends largely on one's point of view as to just how "benevolent" they were or are.^[2] 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").

In the context of open source projects, a "benevolent dictator" is the person who controls every aspect of that project and the project members recognize him as benevolent.^[3] The term is used humorously, mainly because the dictators are almost always software engineers of (yet?) unknown dynasties. As the copyright holder to key parts of the code, the dictator can not be ousted in a traditional sense. When a project dictator is disappointing his community, e.g. transferring his right, he will lose his "benevolent" status and his project will shrink, though a fork may live on.

• Head of state
• Dictator
• Benevolent Dictator for Life
• Big Brother

• Producing Open Source Software: Benevolent Dictators.