I’d like to think so. When we read 1984 in high school, a friend and I were studying together. I remember saying (in my naïveté), “I loved the book and I get the history but why would you want to be in charge of a place that sucks?” She was like, “You’re just going to have to get used to the fact that a lot of people care about power more than beaches.”
Well, I still think those people are foolish. I’d rather be in charge of my own tiny slice of paradise than rule over some wack ass dictatorship where everyone else is miserable. Not wanting to be in charge is probably the basic pre-requisite for being a benevolent dictator. I like to cook for people and stuff. I’d use my power and wealth to do that.
That being said, I’m a dirtbag. I’d have a cool house somewhere with mountain and ocean views. Probably 3 or 4 beauty queens who also have Ms. Congeniality pageant sashes who are in charge of laughing at my jokes and charming me. No more than one or two rhythmic gymnastics teams that delight us all by throwing ribbons to each other with their feet. (Other apparatuses are cool too. Hula hoop. Clubs. Ball. Variety is the spice of life.)
Nobody can.
Oh goodness no. I pray I never come into any real political power.
For fun I’ve already run the numbers on how many adult humans will fit into the cargo holds of a decommissioned Panamax bulker.
WHAT
Don’t worry about it
No.
Not because I’m evil, but because I am empathetic and someone evil would absolutely figure out a way to use that to manipulate me.
One week after I take power the megaprojects start getting built. Benevolence will be factored into budgetary concerns.
no, nobody can… nobody
No, I don’t think I could.
The problem with dictators is that you put every action under the context of a single person’s perspective. Even if you go in with the best and most altruistic intention, no single person is able to tackle every issue from every angle, and you will inevitably end up committing an injustice by a simple lack of awareness.
Not to mention that many issues are of relative morality to different groups, so to one group you can be a savior but to another you will always be a despot. Whichever interpretation ends up as the definitive one depends on how willing the offended parties are to overthrow you.
A democratic system is not perfect and (depending on perspective) may not be as effectual at bringing out positive change as an altruistic dictator, but the concept of distributed responsibility/distributed blame reduces the likelihood of a coup/revolution (emphasis on reduces, not eliminates) as long as the political apparatus is seen to incorporate or acknowledge everyone’s perspectives in the decision making process.
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 know I can but none of you power-hungry would-be tyrants better try anything funny.
Pineapple is mandatory on all pizzas 😈 (I actually like it no joke)
Me too, little bit of sweet goes well with hot peppers. I like to lay it (and sometimes the peppers) out flat on a sheet in the oven to reduce some of the moisture content with a blast of broiler at the end for a quick singe.
That’s it though, no more tyranny after the pizza thing.
I think there are many people out there who could.
To me, the problem isn’t being a benevolent dictator; it’s getting a benevolent person there in a benevolent way.
Yeah the problem is mostly that benevolent people don’t actually want to be dictators much less do what it takes to become one.
If you’re offering me the job, I’ll give it a go. I think I’d do a shockingly great job, but even if I didn’t, there is no universe where I’m as evil and incompetent as the people who are currently in charge.
Yes, hypocrisy is for neurotypicals. That’s why those people will be tattooed with - ah, damn, you got me
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 don’t trust myself that much.
I’d be awful
