Gautam Mukunda wrote:
>Jeroen:
>> Replacing one dictator with an other one is not going
>> to make the world a better place.
>
> Of course it could. It's not _optimal_, but it would
> certainly be an improvement over the current situation.
> If Iraq became something like Syria is today, that would
> be _great_. If Syria became like Singapore, similarly,
> that would be great. All three of those countries are
> ruled by un-elected dictators, but not all dictators
> are remotely alike. Saddam Hussein is probably the
> worst single ruler in the world today - Kim Jong Il is
> probably his only real competition for that dubious
> title - and replacing him with almost _anyone_ would
> be a vast improvement. Given that this is the Middle
> East where, outside of Israel, democracies are not
> exactly common, this might well be the best outcome
> we are likely to get, actually.
>
But AFAIK there�s no plan to replace, say, the dictator
of Egypt or the dictator of Uganda. Or even the dictator
of China or Turkey. The message seems to be that as long
as the dictator respects the rules of international
capitalism, he can remain "dictating" forever.
Alberto Monteiro
Well, first, Turkey is, if you squint sufficiently, a democracy. But I
don't see how your statement conflicts with mine at all. It doesn't have
anything to do with capitalism, for one thing. Where did you get that
idea? It's about threat. I'm not proposing wandering around the world
lopping off non-democratic states at random. Saddam Hussein is a threat to
us. He is a totalitarian dictator who has used weapons of mass destruction
_against his own people_, is currently attempting to acquire nuclear
weapons, and has shown his propensity to support terrorism in the past, as
well as his willingness to invade his neighbors. This is an unacceptable
combination. He's also probably the most brutal dictator in the world. So
I don't have a problem with removing him from power, and I can feel
confident that whoever replaces him will be better for us, and better for
the people of Iraq. Hosni Mubarak is an ally of ours - I hope that Egypt
democratizes soon, but I feel no particular need for us to invade and
remove him. Uganda has no noticeable impact on the United States at all,
so the same thing. The Chinese government has nuclear weapons and an army
larger than the population of quite a few countries - the best way to
democratize China, so far as I can tell, is hope that the developing
Chinese middle class does it for us, and then support them.
Gautam
