Democracy is no longer the best form of government.

I will let you know aKaQ that your (not so subtle) attempt to change the topic of this debate have not gone unnoticed. The topic is "Democracy is no longer the best form of government" and no matter how much you need this to change for the sake of your argument, it will not! You first attempted to change it when you said "what I meant to say was that democracy is no longer the best form of government in my mind." You must be crazy if you think I'm willing to debate what is in your mind. Next you tried to say "As for you stating that a benevolent dictatorship is not a form of government, you are right. It is however a THEORETICAL form of government." If you wanted to discuss theoretical governments you probably should have mentioned that in your topic. You also forgot to mention both these changes in your opening statement for some reason. It would be disrupting the integrity of this web site if we were to allow you to change your topic in the second round. We will stick with the original topic which is clearly spoken from a practical (not theoretical) standpoint. I will still refute your arguments that are from a theoretical standpoint (for the fun of it) but I expect voters to recognize your change in topic and disregard all of your points that are theoretical.Reminder: the burden of proof is on pro for this one. (see my round 1 statement)I will now discredit all of your "refutations"You say that "Since a benevolent dictatorship is theoretical, so too is the integrity of the dictator."... "we must also assume that the dictator will not change from doing what is best for his country"This is very circular logic. You are basically saying that since the benevolent dictatorship is theoretical then the benevolence of the dictator is also theoretical and can not change. Wrong! The dictatorship being benevolent is a result of the dictator being benevolent, not the other way around. Therefore the benevolent dictatorship is subject to change meaning that with any kind of dictatorship, benevolent or not, you run the risk of it switching to a worse dictatorship.Next is your whole idea of checks and balances. According to Merriam-Webster the definition of a dictatorship is this- rule by a dictator : rule, control, or leadership by one person with total power. Add a system of checks and balances would contradict this definition and it would not be a dictatorship!You next insult democracy and say "In one of your arguments, you state that because democracy places the power in the hands of the people and the majority of the people are benevolent, then the assumption would have to be made that the government would also be benevolent. This is not true. How many politicians have promised to do a million things, but as soon as they get comfortable in their Washington chair they digress? They've already been voted in, why would they strain themselves to get their job done? They don't need to hold their promises to get voted in again; all they need is the stupid minds of the average human to believe their recycled lies." If you set up a system of checks and balances in your "dictatorship" would you not be running the same risk? How can you guarantee the integrity of the checks and balances?As for the benevolent oligarchy comment that is completely your opinion with no evidence whatsoever to support it and does not even merit a response.Honestly it sounds like you just despise democracy. You even insult everyday Americans when you say politicians "don't need to hold their promises to get voted in again; all they need is the stupid minds of the average human to believe their recycled lies." Have a little faith in your fellow Americans! After all you are debating on a popular website devoted to people educating themselves and having intense theological, philosophical, and political debates. Maybe spend a little less time insulting your fellow Americans and devote some energy to forming a coherent, logical, and successful argument for your final round.Thanks to all voters and back to you pro