• Yao Bediako posted an update

      a year ago

      0 Abibisika (Black Gold) Points

      Originally written: November 28, 2016

      As far as I can see, there are 2 very important differences between traditional dictatorships and what is put forth as democracy in this world. And the 2 differences are intricately related to each other.

      1. Marketing

      2. Accountability

      30 years of oppression of a people under a traditional dictator means dictatorship is bad. One person, one idea is bad.

      200 years of racist (slavery, black codes, jim crow etc.,) oppression of millions of people under 4 year term elected leaders doesn’t put so much as a smudge on democracy. Multiple people with the same, one idea is seen as better than one person, one idea.

      Now, that’s some great marketing!

      Furthermore, everything bad, especially when it becomes widespread, that happens under the dictatorship is the dictator’s fault. The buck stops with him.

      Under a democracy, nothing is ever the leader’s fault, especially when it becomes widespread among the people. Everything bad is the people’s fault. There are an array of fields of people who specialize in explanations that all lay blame at the feet of the people e.g. absent fathers/ unwed mothers, child abuse, teenagers with nothing productive to do etc.,

      This terrible leader? You voted for him, so what he did is your fault.

      This terrible leader? What he did is your fault because in NOT VOTING for some other terrible leader, you allowed this terrible leader to win instead. All blame shifts from leadership to the people.

      Crimes that leaders commit, no matter how heinous, aren’t classified as crimes at all. At best, it’s all categorized as “corruption”. No accountability whatsoever.

      And even the regular, everyday people, who ARE HELD RESPONISIBLE for just about everything, all strive to protect the system from any critique. If they so happen to blame a leader, it’s not “their” leader and said leader is isolated as an aberration(no matter how many of them there are) and completely insulated from anything having to do with the system.

      Traditional dictatorships and democracy can be used to do whatever one desires, good or bad. It’s all about the policies. But if you want to oppress a people, a traditional dictatorship is a poor format to follow to do so. Democracy is a far more advanced and efficient means of oppressing/ exploiting people. You can oppress them longer, more thoroughly and to much less pushback from them.