The Great Dictators

As a liberal democrat, I often find it hard to compare my ideology with many populist dictators who lived throughout history. Many of them were plain evil, but a surprisingly large number of them were benevolent or enlightened and contributed to the progress of their countries. Even the supremely evil ones, like the WWII dictators Mussolini (well, actually, he's just evil, not supremely evil, since he rejected German Nazi racism), Hitler, Tojo, and Stalin got the economies of their respective countries going at full tilt while the West were still moving through the Depression. This post is simply a list of dictators and what they were able to do. Despite my ardent belief that in general nothing but a democracy can be trusted to run a state, I find it difficult to ignore the evidence that in times of great crisis, a swift-moving enlightened dictator could outperform an elected body or president.

Josef Pilsudski: One of the few dictators regarded both in their home countries and internationally as essentially good for the country (especially since he was dictator of Poland, which is now a democracy). During WWI, when Poland was partitioned between Russia, Austria, and Germany, Pilsudski negotiated Poland's independence from the Central Powers in exchange for fighting the Russians, and secured independence formally after the end of the war. Then, as the chief Marshal of Poland, he repulsed a massive Soviet invasion. Afterwards, he decided to resign from politics in favor of the democratic government about to be elected; he didn't run for any office. However, shortly after his resignation, a right-wing nutjob assassinated the newly-elected president, and a series of political clashes with his right-wing civilian enemies led him to resign his remaining posts. Four years later, in 1925, as Poland floundered in the midst of a political and economic (hyperinflation) crisis, Pilsudski seized power in a coup d'etat supported by leftist (socialist and peasant) political parties. He stabilized the economy, strengthened the army, and promoted religious tolerance, all while remaining popular, and maintained good relations with other countries. He died in 1935.

The fact that Pilsudski actually left politics to a democratic regime and only came back at its failure does say something about him, and the fact that he is well-remembered as a good person and a good ruler despite having obtained power (the second time around) through a coup is very unusual. I just wanted to post this as a case of a good dictator. Now I will continue with a list of dictators I consider benevolent, since I'm not inclined to write a paragraph on every dictator I mention:

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk: (I have to write a paragraph about him; he is my number-one all-time most badass leader). First he commanded the Turkish forces at Gallipoli, kicking the British invading forces off the Dardanelles. Afterwards, he took the crumbling, failed Ottoman Empire after it had been broken up following defeat in WWI and fought of numerous threats, including a massive Greek army pushing into western Anatolia, and religious and Kurdish attacks from the South and East to regain Istanbul (although he kept the capital at Ankara) to create modern Turkey. He then made peace with the Greeks, and set about modernizing and democratizing Turkey, doing away with religious radicalism and making Turkey into a prosperous and advanced nation. Despite the fact that for a while it was a one-party state, Kemalist Turkey is one of the greatest success stories for the idea of benevolent dictatorship.

Pre-Great-Leap-Forward Mao Zedong (he royally screwed up his country after that, especially with the Cultural Revolution, which was craziness that would have shamed North Korea)

Fidel Castro: gets gold stars for literacy and health care, but the large number of refugees goes against him. A hard to judge case, since Cuba's poverty could be attributed to him or to the US sanctions on Cuba; to know for sure (not to mention that this is also the fastest and most humanitarian route to liberating Cuba, and seems like a total no-brainer) we would have to open up trade relations with Cuba.

The Shah of Iran: made a public education system, fought religious dogma, industrialized the economy. Despite the political oppression, I believe if Iran had stuck to his "White Revolution" it would be a modern, powerful country today. He's certainly much, much better than the religious creeps running the place today, although he probably worsened the country when, with the CIA's help, he deposed Mossadeq.

Lee Kuan Yew: dictator (-ish) of Singapore. Singapore's political, economic, and educational development in comparison with the surrounding countries testifies to his success.

Deng Xiaoping: turned China from backward, ignorant giant to the industrial powerhouse it is today.

Saddam Hussein: a monster, but improved education and kept the place in order. Iraq wasn't a pretty place under him, but it's not much prettier now, either.

Napoleon Bonaparte: no explanation needed.

Josef Broz Tito: kept Yugoslavia in order and relatively prosperous (as compared to its Warsaw Pact neighbors) and kept ethnic tensions at a minimum. Only 10 years after his death did Yugoslavia finally get enough ethnic antagonism to break apart into civil war.

William Tubman: increased foreign investment in Liberia by a factor of 200 (!) and avg annual GDP growth rate of 11.5% (!), only cracking down on political opposition after a failed assassination attempt. Stabilized and opened his country.

Canaan Sodindo Banana: I don't know if he ever did anything except get accused of sodomy by Robert Mugabe, and he wasn't even a dictator, but he's here just because of his name. I mean, come on, "Canaan Banana"?

Charles De Gaulle: I love it when assholes (in this case, the right wing Pieds Noirs in Algeria) install a dictator only to find out he's actually not on their side

And finally, the classic original enlightened dictators:

Pericles
Julius Caesar
Marcus Aurelius
Pontius Pilate
Solomon
Liu Pang
Peter the Great
Catherine the Great

I'm sure there are more I didn't mention, I just figured this would be food for thought for liberal democrats like me.