Human beings have ruled one another for centuries. Going back even further, however, there is evidence that other leadership styles may have their own distinct advantages. One such leadership style would be the dictatorship leadership style. When you think of dictators, you think of emperors like the namesakes of Draco, Nero, and Akkar. These were very famous ancient dictators, and while they were not perfect, they all showed that the dictatorship leadership style can actually have a lot of advantages depending on what you take away from each type. While there are very few “true” dictatorships in existence, you’ll see that this leadership style has both advantages as well as disadvantages.
List Of Pros Of Dictatorship
1. Gets Things Done
When you look back at the many dictatorships throughout history, there is no doubt that dictators get things done. In reality, even though people didn’t necessarily call them dictators, the ancient Egyptians ruled their people with an iron fist. They were super oppressive and controlled every segment of society. This is most certainly a dictatorship, and while people criticize it in retrospect, at the time, it was very successful at getting a lot of significant changes implemented.
2. Very Stable as a Society
There is a great history of upheavals and takeovers throughout human history. When you consider one of the strongest leadership styles to preserve a strong society, there is no doubt that dictatorships are amongst the most prevalent as far as maintaining a strong, united society without any doubt about who was in charge. Dictators are often effective maintaining order because they’re simple. Although they are criticized for being too authoritarian, there is no question that they keep a steady finger and ensure that there is no question about whom you take orders from.
List Of Cons Of Dictatorship
1. Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely
There is an old saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely, this is especially true with dictatorships. When you give one individual absolute control, there is no doubt that this singular person will have great potential to get out of control. As far as being out of control, you need only look at history to see the many instances where a singular dictator inflicted tremendous harm upon societies because there was no one to check their power. Whether it was Hitler or Stalin, they proved that although dictatorships were immensely powerful, they were way too risky to utilize as a primary leadership style.
