Monday, July 09, 2012

Who said it?

Who said this?
[A]s long-term institutions, I am totally against dictatorships. But a dictatorship may be a necessary system for a transitional period. At times it is necessary for a country to have, for a time, some form or other of dictatorial power. As you will understand, it is possible for a dictator to govern in [an ideal] way. And it is also possible for a democracy to govern with a total lack of [idealism]. Personally, I prefer [an ideal] dictator to democratic government lacking in [idealism]. My personal impression. . . is that in [country with a dictatorship] . . . we will witness a transition from a dictatorial government to [an ideal] government . . . during this transition it may be necessary to maintain certain dictatorial powers, not as something permanent, but as a temporary arrangement.

Note: I've obscured the author's ideal form of government to make it more interesting to guess.

Read Corey Robin's post for the answer.

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