We All Secretly Want a Dictatorship
By: Emily Alexandra
Tags: Human Behavior, Dictatorship, Psychology, Philosophy, Humanity

Photo by Jana Shnipelson on Unsplash

Imagine this- there’s a whole world that has the exact same opinions and laws as you do, and you’re one of the many people who hold power for it. Or, if not, you would at least want that power to stay the same forever or for a very long time at least. And as for the people who disagree with those opinions and laws, well… what kind of idiots would ever disagree with your views? If anyone ever disagrees with those views, you wouldn’t even consider them a citizen or even a human! That’ll show them!

Let’s be real- we all had thoughts like these, no matter how often or how severe they were. After all, everyone wants to be a leader because everyone wants to have power and feel important to other people. And we’ve all wanted to use our power to help the rest of the world and make it a better place. The question is, how would we make the world a better place if we had all that power? Well, there are three main answers to that question.

The most popular, and the fairest, is democracy. While yes, we want to have power for ourselves, we may also want to share that power with other people. Plus, we don’t know about everything in the world, so it would be a good idea to have other people helping us with information so that we can make good decisions that’ll affect other people’s lives. After all, we’re giving someone a job, and if the most amount of people vote for us, then certainly that must mean that a lot of people like you!

But if not having immediate power from the day you were born doesn’t appeal to you, then there’s always a monarchy. Of course, you’re not gonna automatically get power the second you’re born, but you’ll eventually get it the second you inherit the throne from your parents or other blood relatives. Of course, you’ll still need other people to help with the little decisions, but when it comes to the big decisions, all that power belongs to you and you only!

A dictatorship is also like a monarchy with the inheritance of power mainly coming from the family… at least, that’s what you would expect if you know anything about the country of North Korea. But of course, you don’t have to do that. Some dictatorships result from coups and keep that power by force. Now, why would anyone do such a thing like that when they could just be a good enough person for people to vote for them? Believe it or not, the person who was in charged before you may steal the vote or may not feel the need to rush out of office quite so soon or even ever. So, of course you’re gonna have to use a coup to get that sweet, sweet power that you’ve rightfully deserved. And once you’ve obtained your rightfulness, everyone has to bide by you and your rules.

Speaking of your rules, you get to make them and turn them into law without anybody’s help or suggestions! That’s right- anything you think should be a law can be a law according to you and only you! Of course, you’ll probably make ordinary crimes such as murder, rape, or robbery illegal, but the rest is entirely up to you! Do you think beards and mustaches are ugly? You can make a law against that! Do you want more of your people to give birth? Well, now you can prohibit birth control and abortions! Are you really into voodoo? Turn it into a state religion- who cares what other think? Do you hate dogs? Ban them from the capital; who needs those filthy creatures ruining your beautiful city?

Do you want to know what the best part about all of this is? Nobody can object or even question you! Why should they? Your laws and policies are the best, the smartest, and the most logical there are, so how dare anyone question them! In fact, anybody who dares questions your policies should be punished for doing so! So, how long should they serve in prison for daring to disobey or question your laws? Five years? Ten years? Twenty years? Those aren’t good enough, so how about just killing them off? Yes, a perfect solution for a perfect world- that way, you’ll never have to deal with those evil people ever again! And while you’re at it, why not kill them in public to warn other citizens to never mess with you?

“Wait a minute, that’s paragraph way too harsh!” you’re probably saying, “In fact, this whole article so far has been way too harsh!” And you’re correct- it is way too harsh because dictatorships are often way too harsh on their citizens. After all, there comes a point where citizens revolt and say that enough is enough. That’s what had happened with many dictatorships and authoritarian governments such as communist Romania in 1989, fascist Italy in 1945, the Soviet Union in 1991, Haiti and the Philippines in 1986, Portugal in 1974, and countless of others over the history of the world. So, if this article is claiming that we all secretly want a dictatorship, then why did all of these governments end in such huge revolutions?

While we all our own little dictatorships to satisfy our selfish wants, we also have a deep desire to help others out not just to feel good about ourselves, but to help others feel good about themselves and the world around them. Even the dictators of today and the past feel the same way; that’s how our society advanced for all these years. The trouble comes when we think that what’s good for us must be good for everyone else, so nobody should object to the greater good for society. That is the biggest problem with dictatorship- instead of considering a compromise for the general public, they apply their needs and wants to everyone else, which is not at all a very effective way of long-term governing.

Ever wonder why most of those former authoritarian countries that I’ve mentioned before turned into democratic countries? Because when you are too selfish with your needs, then there will be a point where the box opens and all hell breaks loose. Yes, we are all a little selfish at heart, and it is okay to admit that, but we have to consider the other people we affect big and small. And the dictator inside of you will not admit that.