Advantages of Dictatorship

Whenever we come across the word "Dictator", images of a ruthless leader who commits atrocities on people to get his own way come to our mind. If we look at some of the famous dictators in the past, such as Adolf Hitler in Germany and Saddam Hussein in Iraq, they have reinforced this point of view of dictators being ruthless and doing anything to hold on to the power. However, there are certain dictators such as Mustafa Kamal Pasha of Turkey, who have brought a lot of progress to their country. So it can be rightly said that just like all other types of governments, there are both advantages as well as disadvantages of dictatorship.

Advantages

Dictatorship can be defined as a form of government in which the power is centralized. It either lies with a single person or a small group of people. The general population has no say in the functioning of the government. The people do not have any choice with regards to by whom or how their country will be run. In a dictatorship form of government, the people are expected to do, whatever is decided for them by the dictator. China, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Cuba, among many others, follow dictatorship form of government. Let us try to understand its advantages.

Stable Government
As in a dictatorship, the decision-making lies with only one person and others do not have any say in the working of the government, it offers a kind of stability to the country. Problems such as frequent elections, as in the case of democracy, or a disruption of peace due to political factions, do not arise in a dictatorship.

Less Room for Corruption
A dictator is very stringent with regards to the rules, regulations, penalties, punishments and rewards. This makes the people working under him less liable to corruption.

Most Efficient During Emergencies
When a country faces any kind of emergency, such as a war or a health epidemic, a dictatorship government can prove to be the most efficient one. The reason being that all the decisions are taken by one person, so there is no ambiguity with regards to the plan of action as well as individual responsibilities that are fixed to cope with the emergency. So one of its main advantages over democracy is that it is better equipped to face emergencies.

Lesser Crime Rate
Most of the dictatorship governments are police states. So, in a way there is low crime rate under such regimes. Another reason for a better law and order situation in these states is that various laws are passed immediately, without any discussion or waiting for the public opinion on them. This leads to better control over crimes too.

"Things Happen" Quickly
In a dictatorship form of government, all things, whether related to governance or businesses or anything else, happen much quicker than in other types of government. The reason for this is the same i.e. decision-making lies with a single person.

Although for these advantages to translate into real life, a dictator needs to be self less, benevolent, well experienced and intelligent. As a dictator has unlimited power, if he does not possess these qualities, the disadvantages of dictatorship, such as oppression of people, no freedom of choice for the people, accumulation of wealth in a few hands, loss of civil rights, flawed decision-making, etc. can lead the country towards a wrong path. Looking at the stakes associated with a dictatorship form of government, many countries under such a regime are considering becoming democracies, which is a form of government for the people, of the people and by the people. Today, looking at the progress democracies such as America and India are making, democracy is considered the best form of governance.