June 6, 2024
Autocracies and Dictatorships
Often, all non-democratic regimes are labeled as dictatorships, but this is a historical error. In reality, until the nineteenth century (let's say), the prevailing idea worldwide was that sovereignty should be exercised by individuals designated in various ways and not chosen by the people. In fact, this is still the system for almost all authorities: the post office director is not elected by the employees, nor is a general by the soldiers. Then, in Europe, the idea that sovereignty belongs to the people emerged, and the problem became how it should be exercised. One might think of direct democracy, which has not been successful anywhere, or delegation (in many versions), which are the actual democracies.