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I think because HN's audience is mostly US based there's a high level of bias towards democratic governments. I think if we all take a look at it from a unbias

I think because HN's audience is mostly US based there's a high level of bias towards democratic governments. I think if we all take a look at it from a unbiased angle it's all really apples and oranges. A bad dictator is not so different from a democracy electing bad leaders and a good dictator is not so different from a democracy electing good leaders. The thing with a democracy is that you have a lot of checks and balances so an elected bad leader can't do much damage... but then again an elected good leader can't do much good either.

blocked_again 6y ago
It's better to have a leader that do some good and some bad things than having a leader that do a lot of good and lot of bad things.
BatFastard 6y ago
Problem with a bad dictator is you may be stuck with him/her for life. With elected leaders you can usually get rid of them.
hellofunk 6y ago
This is somewhat of a naive view -- the risks of any kind of dictatorship far outweigh any slight chance of good.
- wenc 6y ago
  I tend to agree -- it seems to me that democracy creates ecological conditions favorable to long-term survival, because the risk of destruction under dictatorship is asymmetric with respect to the probability of prosperity. Democratic checks-and-balances assume the inescapability of despotic buffoons who rise to power either through force or sometimes even through the people's choice (while it's good to believe in the wisdom of crowds, one must always account for its lapses). I think these are very realistic assumptions.
  - leafboi 6y ago
    The problem is there's no definitive evidence that proves this yet.
- bllguo 6y ago
  Hand-waving things away with your absolutist statement is what truly seems naive. IMO there is far more nuance than you suggest. Democracy seems to work well for some types of problems but not others. What happens to democracies when faced with threats that manifest over very short timescales? They aren't nimble enough to respond in time. This is most evident in larger democracies; look at US/India responses to COVID. Countries like Taiwan are democratic and still succeeded, but they are small and they utilized methods that would be characterized as authoritarian here in the US. What about problems where the consequences of decisions have a large time-lag? There is no incentive for democratic policymakers to address them. Global warming is the obvious example. I question whether democracies can handle these kinds of issues. More worryingly, I think that as humanity's capabilities continue to increase, these kinds of problems are going to be more and more frequent.
  - threeseed 6y ago
    Countries like Australia, South Korea and New Zealand have had exemplary COVID-19 responses. It has nothing to do with whether you are a democracy or not and everything to do with the competence of the government. And the people of the US will have an opportunity to vote in a few months on whether the response was adequate or not. I don't see the people of China having a similar opportunity for example.
    - nradov 6y ago
      Did you consider it an exemplary response when Australian police arrested a pregnant woman for attempting to protest lockdown measures? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54007824 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54007824
      - threeseed 6y ago
        I live in Melbourne and her arrest is widely supported. Our city is in a severe lockdown and at a tipping point between New Zealand style suppression and US style chaos. Just because she is a white, pregnant woman does not mean that she has the right to break the law and compromise the safety of the community.
nine_zeros 6y ago
Choosing the lesser of evils systematically. Imagine if Trump were legally authorized to be a dictator.
AniseAbyss 6y ago
The US is quickly becoming an argument against democracy's.
- sumedh 6y ago
  US has its own problems where a presidential candidate still loses even if he/she gets majority of the votes.

blocked_again 6y ago

It's better to have a leader that do some good and some bad things than having a leader that do a lot of good and lot of bad things.

BatFastard 6y ago

Problem with a bad dictator is you may be stuck with him/her for life. With elected leaders you can usually get rid of them.

hellofunk 6y ago

This is somewhat of a naive view -- the risks of any kind of dictatorship far outweigh any slight chance of good.

wenc 6y ago
I tend to agree -- it seems to me that democracy creates ecological conditions favorable to long-term survival, because the risk of destruction under dictatorship is asymmetric with respect to the probability of prosperity. Democratic checks-and-balances assume the inescapability of despotic buffoons who rise to power either through force or sometimes even through the people's choice (while it's good to believe in the wisdom of crowds, one must always account for its lapses). I think these are very realistic assumptions.
- leafboi 6y ago
  The problem is there's no definitive evidence that proves this yet.
bllguo 6y ago
Hand-waving things away with your absolutist statement is what truly seems naive. IMO there is far more nuance than you suggest. Democracy seems to work well for some types of problems but not others. What happens to democracies when faced with threats that manifest over very short timescales? They aren't nimble enough to respond in time. This is most evident in larger democracies; look at US/India responses to COVID. Countries like Taiwan are democratic and still succeeded, but they are small and they utilized methods that would be characterized as authoritarian here in the US. What about problems where the consequences of decisions have a large time-lag? There is no incentive for democratic policymakers to address them. Global warming is the obvious example. I question whether democracies can handle these kinds of issues. More worryingly, I think that as humanity's capabilities continue to increase, these kinds of problems are going to be more and more frequent.
- threeseed 6y ago
  Countries like Australia, South Korea and New Zealand have had exemplary COVID-19 responses. It has nothing to do with whether you are a democracy or not and everything to do with the competence of the government. And the people of the US will have an opportunity to vote in a few months on whether the response was adequate or not. I don't see the people of China having a similar opportunity for example.
  - nradov 6y ago
    Did you consider it an exemplary response when Australian police arrested a pregnant woman for attempting to protest lockdown measures? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54007824 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54007824
    - threeseed 6y ago
      I live in Melbourne and her arrest is widely supported. Our city is in a severe lockdown and at a tipping point between New Zealand style suppression and US style chaos. Just because she is a white, pregnant woman does not mean that she has the right to break the law and compromise the safety of the community.

nine_zeros 6y ago

Choosing the lesser of evils systematically. Imagine if Trump were legally authorized to be a dictator.

AniseAbyss 6y ago

The US is quickly becoming an argument against democracy's.

sumedh 6y ago
US has its own problems where a presidential candidate still loses even if he/she gets majority of the votes.