The myth of the good dictator

It's hard to think of even one authoritarian leader who did a reasonable job

A certain WhatsApp forward arrives in my inbox every few months. This is supposedly an excerpt from a speech by an African dictator explaining why elections are a bad idea during wars, famines, periods of financial instability, periods of prosperity, good times and bad times. Elections are divisive, and the election process distracts rulers and drags them away from the stern task of governance.

Enough people in my circle of acquaintances (CoA) seem to believe enough in this tripe to forward it. My CoA consists largely of educated folks who live in democratic nations. (I’ve never received this forward from