Pacific Views

Democracy vs Dictatorship

Kevin Drum thought that Kristof's column this week in the NY Times was very good. And, indeed, this column is one of Kristof's best in synthesizing his experiences to provide a valuable insight on the world today. The problem that Kristof pointed out is that vital information is less likely to get heard in a dictatorship.

That episode underscored to me how difficult it was for Saddam's government to get accurate information. Ultimately, Saddam's rule collapsed in part because he couldn't read Iraq and made decisions based on hubris and bad information.

These days, President Bush and his aides are having the same problem. Critics complain that they lied to the American public about how difficult the war would be, but I fear the critics are wrong: they didn't just fool us — they also fooled themselves.

It is not hard to see that Bush and his administration inhabit a bubble and this affects what they are willing (or able) to hear. One reason this is so is because Bush and his team believe that dictatorships are more efficient than democracies. Ever since Ross Perot, Americans have been primed to believe that "business people" are better at getting things done than politicians and that the private sector is better than the public sector for delivering valuable services. Bush fully subscribes to this philosophy and believes that he and his small circle of "experts" can make better policy than those that "listen to the polls".

People are often enamored with dictatorships as long as they get to be the dictator, because they get to say what other people do. Yet, if they are not the dictator, people really dislike others "telling them what to do", especially when they have no voice in what needs to be done. So, I'll bet that GWB would hate the world I would create: "Everyone with an income over $100,000 must fund the schools for the neighborhood at twice the rate of those who make less." And, if I was dictator, I wouldn't have to listen to his concerns or anger, although if I lose control, I might have to live with the consequences of his anger.

Dictatorships (especially dictatorships based on fear) never get accurate and complete information that can be used to help determine future action. Therefore, although the illusion of dictatorship is that things get done faster and with less compromise, it is precisely these things that cause dictatorships to be so poor in their outcome.

Democracies, on the other hand, are very aware of the issues and concerns of those that make up the democracy. Democracies are much slower at getting things done, yet, when a course is set, there is much more consensus for the policy set and the outcome is more likely to be optimal.

Bush's greatest weakness is his blindness -- his inability to hear or see anything that disagrees with his world view. Yet, his blindness (and his stubborn insistance to do things "his" way) creates the worst situation for the world, because he will put his foot to the pedal when every real sign says slow down.

The ultimate dictatorships of the 20th century were China under Mao or Russia under Stalin. Under Mao, China experienced a horrific famine that was created by Mao and his advisors who believed that they could control and dictate what happened in agriculture. As with Mao, Bush and his team believe they know so much that they do not have to listen to others. The problems with their world view (the Iraqis will throw flowers) is becoming very evident. And as with Mao, instead of readjusting the policy for the reality (where often the leader doesn't even hear about the problems), Bush continues to believe that things will work out okay if we just do more of the same -- more tax cuts, more deregulation, more threats to our enemies, etc. The world could go to hell in a handbasket and Bush would not change course.

In a dictatorship much unaccounable power is put in the hands of those who believe they don't have to consult with others and that they can ignore the voices that tell them things they don't want to hear. The unfortunate matter for the country is perhaps Bush is closer to operating in a dictatorship than is good for us.

Posted by Mary at November 6, 2003 10:02 AM | TrackBack