Title: Are there any historical examples of a benevolent dictatorship? : AskHistorians
Headings: Are there any historical examples of a benevolent dictatorship?
Are there any historical examples of a benevolent dictatorship?
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Black Panther members once openly carried firearms and would stand nearby when the police pulled over a black person. They would shout advice, like the fact that the person could remain silent, and assured them that they'd be there to help if anything went wrong. Why did this stop?
Millennials in the US widely believe that getting hired was easier for their parents & grandparents, who are known such stories as “I walked right up to manager and said, ‘I’d like a job, when can I start?’ He hired me on the spot!” How true was this in, say, 1970?
Why did the US Government name its states after Native American tribes it was actively trying to wipe out?
In Mad Men the ad-men are always depicted with a decanter of whiskey in their offices and taking drinks in the afternoon. When did alcohol become a “thing” in the workplace and when did it stop becoming such a thing?
This list of causes of death for 1632 Londoners has some familiar causes (consumption, drowned, etc.) and others that are not so familiar, such entries for "Rising of the Lights" killing 98, and "Planet" killing 13. When did death records start being collected systematically in standardized form?
Why do Communist societies that we've seen tend toward authoritarianism and dictatorial-style arrangements?
A strange thing I noticed about US states is that usually, the capital of the state is not the largest city in it. Why is that?
When and why did the word "overmorrow" fall out of usage?

Content: Are there any historical examples of a benevolent dictatorship? : AskHistorians
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u/Quouar
7 years ago
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Are there any historical examples of a benevolent dictatorship? I've heard of Tito's Yugoslavia being argued as one, but at the same time, he did seem to like arresting people and committing genocide against Germans. What's the justification for Tito being benevolent? Is it just comparative? Are there any examples of a dictatorship that was both good for its country and good to its citizens, but which didn't have freedom of elections? 35 comments
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sandwiches_are_real
7 years ago
King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan significantly reformed and democratized his country without, to my knowledge, strong activism or unhappiness from his populace. He transferred power from the monarchy to democratically elected political offices, drafted a framework for a constitutional monarchy to replace the absolute monarchy which he had inherited, he significantly modernized the country, and established a Gross National Happiness index as a means of quantifying the well-being of his citizens and improving their livelihoods overall. All these reforms were instituted not at the request of the populace, but by the wishes of the King himself. It's a bit of an odd example of benevolent dictatorship as that term usually doesn't encompass the voluntary, unasked-for relinquishment of power, but that's exactly what he did.