While I’d disagree with your description of FDR as a dictator, you’re quite right about Ataturk, and your other examples expose my woefully insufficient knowledge of non-Western history. My belief has been updated, and the post will be as well, in a moment.
Thank you! I’m so happy to have a community where things like this happen.
Are you in agreement with my description of Lincoln as a dictator below? He’s less benevolent than FDR but I’d still call him benevolent and he’s a more clear dictator.
Lincoln’s a little more borderline, but so far as I’m aware, he didn’t do anything to mess with the 1864 elections; I think most people would think that that keeps him on the non-dictator end of the spectrum
Of course, the validity of that election was based on a document that he was actively violating at the time, so there definitely seems to be room for debate.
In addition, there’s the fact that most of the Southern States couldn’t vote at the time. It was basically unthinkable that he could have lost the elections. Democratic and dictatorial aren’t natural types, but I’d say Lincoln is at least as far in the dictatorial direction as Putin, Nazarbayev, or almost any other basically sane ex-Soviet leader.
While I’d disagree with your description of FDR as a dictator, you’re quite right about Ataturk, and your other examples expose my woefully insufficient knowledge of non-Western history. My belief has been updated, and the post will be as well, in a moment.
Thanks.
Thank you! I’m so happy to have a community where things like this happen. Are you in agreement with my description of Lincoln as a dictator below? He’s less benevolent than FDR but I’d still call him benevolent and he’s a more clear dictator.
Lincoln’s a little more borderline, but so far as I’m aware, he didn’t do anything to mess with the 1864 elections; I think most people would think that that keeps him on the non-dictator end of the spectrum
Of course, the validity of that election was based on a document that he was actively violating at the time, so there definitely seems to be room for debate.
In addition, there’s the fact that most of the Southern States couldn’t vote at the time. It was basically unthinkable that he could have lost the elections. Democratic and dictatorial aren’t natural types, but I’d say Lincoln is at least as far in the dictatorial direction as Putin, Nazarbayev, or almost any other basically sane ex-Soviet leader.