The Age of Benevolent Dictators

A few months ago, I found myself in a discussion with an acquaintance who had visited the Libyan city of Tripoli in the last year. It is to be recalled that at the time, Egypt was in political turmoil due to unrelenting pressure by the citizens for resignation by the president and the leadership. As is common, there were various ideas about how far the series of protests would go throughout the nations of the Middle East and the north of Africa. The discussion started with arguments about what the trajectory of protests would take and which country would next be under pressure. My interlocutor stated firmly that Libya's government would have no reason at all for worry because of the better quality of life that it accorded its citizens. In his view, many people would willingly trade off political freedom for economic prosperity and that was it. While I do not recall exactly the words uttered, the libertarian bone in me was  disturbed by the assertion that benevolent dictators are going to be more safe and better for development outcomes.

Today, I got a copy of this piece by the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) that places a dispassionate argument dispelling the myth of the stability and prosperity of states under the rule of "benevolent dictators". Admitting that there are a number of seemingly prosperous states that have had authoritarian governments, the article makes the important point that this is no reason to conclude that democracy should be secondary to strong economies. And yet, the clear evidence that democratic systems have endured into prosperous economies does not seem to correlate with preference for the former. At the same time, it is clear that democratic systems may be difficult to work under but these governments are more likely to be interested in achievements that go beyond keeping the chairman and his comrades in power.  

For all its conciseness and clarity, this article is unlikely to convince everyone that democratic freedom is also most stable avenue towards economic prosperity. One need not only look at Intrade's main board on the chances of Gaddafi's survival to understand that this quest for benevolent dictatorships is ill-informed. We now know that among the governments in the neighbourhood of the Middle east, it is the Libyan government that has the toughest choices ahead of it now. It is also less likely that the regime will survive intact as there are some irreversible changes already afoot.