# The World's Ten Worst Dictators. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 24, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951 "2004-02-24T19:32:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Milum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Milum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milum)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/1 "2004-02-24T19:32:02Z")
Nestled in the pages between tenniebopper rockstar gossip and recipies for Caraelized Mushroom Tarts and Onion Confits this past Sunday was Parade Magazine’s list of the World’s Ten Worst Dictators. The list’s compiller, contributing Editor David Wallechinsky, is said to have consulted with several human rights groups willing to expose both left- and right-wing regimes alike. Ranked as follows… \*\*#1 Kim Jong II, North Korea. Age 63 #2 Than Shwe, Burma. Age 71 #3 Hu Jintao, China. Age 61 #4 Robert Mugabe, Zimbawe. Age 80 #5 Crown Prince Abdullah, Saudi Arabia. Age 80 #6 Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Equatorial Guinea. Age 61 #7 Omar Al-Bashir, Sudan. Age 59 #8 Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenista. Age 64 #9 Fidel Castro, Cuba. Age 77 #10 king Mswati III, Swaziland. Age 35\*\* Whew! Quite a bad lot. Well at least we can thank the good Bush that Saddam Hussein now rots in jail and that Charles Taylor has left town and that Qaddafi has seen the light. Now here is my problem of semantics … The left-wing dictators on the list extend quite smoothly from the postures traditionally held by the left. While the postures of the right end quite abruptly with the inactment of tyrants and kings and military regimes. So how is it that dicatators can be said to be "right-winged? ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/2 "2004-02-24T20:53:25Z")
I dunno. I’ve never personally thought of dictators in terms of being “left wing” or “right wing.” To me they’re simply vile, controlling killers who are only interested in pursuing their own personal agendas at the cost of an entire country or region. Not traits I associate with either the liberal or conservative political philosophies unless you get to the extreeeeeeme end of either in which case they tend to look pretty much the same. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/3 "2004-02-24T21:02:58Z")
Not everything is as obvious to the rest of us as it is to you, **Milum**. Mind telling us which of these notables on which wing, and why you think so? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/4 "2004-02-24T21:24:55Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Not everything is as obvious to the rest of us as it is to you, **Milum**. Mind telling us which of these notables on which wing, and why you think so? -Preferably in floating point format! ---
**Author:** ![Avenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Avenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avenger)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/5 "2004-02-24T21:30:24Z")
I wonder what criteria you have to meet to win the title of ‘worst’ dictator. Kim Jong Il seems to me to be a rather good dictator, he’s been performing the role for a long time and seems to have dictating down to a fine art. Many of today’s younger generation of dictators would do well to learn from him… ---
**Author:** ![Sine\_Nomen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d26b3c/32.png) [@Sine\_Nomen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sine_Nomen)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/6 "2004-02-24T21:50:35Z")
I would have put Abdullah and Niyazov much higher, personally. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/7 "2004-02-24T21:56:50Z")
I would say that I’m far worse a dictator than any of those guys. Nobody does _anything_ I tell them to do. ---
**Author:** ![Milum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Milum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milum)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/8 "2004-02-24T22:20:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* Elvislives\*\* : Not everything is as obvious to the rest of us > as it is to you, Milum. Mind telling us which of these notables are on > which wing, and why you think so? That’s just it Elvis, there are no right-wing dictators, because as soon as they become “dictators” they no longer reflect the thinking of the right-wing. On the other hand godless communism is but an extention of socialism and is oppressive by the very nature of the leftist creed. Now here’s a trick question; name me one country in the world where free elections are held that is communist today? ---
**Author:** ![DeadJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/35a633/32.png) [@DeadJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadJesus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/9 "2004-02-24T22:30:58Z")
Minor nitpick here. The only thing Quadaffi sees the light on is WMD and he’s been seeing the light for about 10 years now. He hasn’t said anything about democratizing Libya and we haven’t been pushing him about it. He remains a dictator albeit one who is concerned about the legacy he’ll leave behind, which is why he’s been concentrated on doing something positive for his country rather than attacking ours for so long. But still, he’s a dictator. Charles Taylor may be gone, but I understand that his second-in-command is now in power and still chummy with Taylor. As to the OP, I’m not quite clear on what you are trying to say. Are you saying that right-wing dictatorships have nothing to do with being right-wing? How are you defining right-wing? ---
**Author:** ![quelquechose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6f9a4e/32.png) [@quelquechose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quelquechose)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/10 "2004-02-24T22:31:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Now here’s a trick question; name me one country in the world > where free elections are held that is communist today? Define communist. Also, [http://www.politicalcompass.org/](http://www.politicalcompass.org/) has an interesting perspective on the left/right thing. Stalin’s type of left wing is very different from the left wing of the Dalai Lama, just as George Bush’s right wing is very different from that of the Libertarian party. Classifying the left (or right) as one monothic group is just pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Milum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Milum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milum)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/11 "2004-02-24T23:29:26Z")
Ok, **quelguechose**. I took the test and had my red spot placed dead center by the faceless judges . Go figure. Define communism? Why? Didn’t you believe Engels and Marx? And no, when we talk in open forums we don’t normally deal with absolutes. Yes, the boundries of left-thinking and right-thinking are muddled. And yes, the words that delimit a quality can also exclude other qualities to a fault, but arbitrarily we press on and sometimes we learn despite our clumsy definitions. And that is why we sometimes need a floating point system to lightly massage the empirical data. Now back to the dictators… ---
**Author:** ![quelquechose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6f9a4e/32.png) [@quelquechose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quelquechose)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/12 "2004-02-25T00:13:03Z")
> [@](#): > > And no, when we talk in open forums we don’t normally deal > with absolutes. > Yes, the boundries of left-thinking and right-thinking are muddled. > And yes, the words that delimit a quality can also exclude other > qualities to a fault, but arbitrarily we press on and sometimes > we learn despite our clumsy definitions. > And that is why we sometimes need a floating point system > to lightly massage the empirical data. What’s a floating point system? What are you trying to say here? I’m sorry, but I can’t make any sense of it. Back to dictators. Can you name a single left-wing dictator from your list? I am using left wing here in the sense that the (American) democratic party is left of the republican party, that is, both socially and economically. All dictators are high on the authoritarian axis, by virtue of being dictators, but is there any reason that a dictator should lie to the left economically? On the Political Compass chart, Hitler is a centrist. So, does Nazism “extend quite smoothly” from your position? After all, Stalin is (slightly) farther from Hitler than Hitler is from the center. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/13 "2004-02-25T00:33:04Z")
> [@Milum](#): > > That’s just it Elvis, there are no right-wing dictators, > because as soon as they become “dictators” they no longer reflect > the thinking of the right-wing. Petain definately reflected the thinking of the French right wing. ---
**Author:** ![Milum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Milum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milum)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/14 "2004-02-25T01:00:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* Quelquechose\*\* : What’s a floating point system? > What are you trying to say here? > I’m sorry, but I can’t make any sense of it. > > Back to dictators. Can you name a single left-wing dictator from your list? Sorry **Quelquechose** , the floating point reference was a running joke from another thread, please excuse me. But me and about one billion pinkos would likely agree that Castro, Kim Jong II, and Hu Jintao were left-wingers to the extreme and maybe Than Shwe of Burma could be added to that jolly group. But as a point in fact, all dictatorships are philosophical lefties inasmuch as they both redistribute the country’s wealth. But in defense of our Democrats I’d like to say that by-in-large most dictators are much more corrupt. ---
**Author:** ![TitoBenito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2acd7d/32.png) [@TitoBenito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TitoBenito)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/15 "2004-02-25T01:06:57Z")
Milum likes to define word differently then the generally accepted definitions to fit his agenda. To the rest of the world _right-wing_ means “Favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change” but to Milum right-wing seems to be just another word for “free” or maybe “good.” Who knows? Why can’t dictators be right-wing? Well because Milum has redefined the word to mean something else. You can’t argue with the guy because he doesn’t share the same vocabulary with the rest of the English speaking world. Also Hu Jintao isn’t really a [dictator](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=dictator) in the true sense of the word. True the CCP is an authoritarian and undemocratic oligarchy, but the man himself doesn’t seem to have enough personal power to be called a true dictator. If Hu Jintao wanted to throw a huge Hu Jintao day festival with his picture posted on everyone and everything like Mao, he would probibly be kicked out. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/16 "2004-02-25T01:19:22Z")
Jeez, I logged on to the Straight Dope and saw this new thread, started by **Milum** , [who when last seen](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=240201&page=3) had promised he was going to contact Yahoo News by phone on Monday, that is to say yesterday, and return to describe to us all how their supposed liberal bias worked. Anxious to hear this explained at long last after so man y promises, I went to the thread in question, and nothing. What’s wrong, old bean, forgot to fill us in there, or what? Shouldn’t you complete one important task in the eradication fo ignorance before starting another? ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/17 "2004-02-25T01:37:01Z")
I’m confused. When you say someone is a “bad” dictator, does that mean he’s a dictator who is a bad person who’s done bad things, or does that mean he’s just not very good at being a dictator? You know, like “Attila the testy,” or “Ivan the Unpopular?” ---
**Author:** ![quelquechose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6f9a4e/32.png) [@quelquechose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quelquechose)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/18 "2004-02-25T01:42:03Z")
> [@](#): > > But me and about one billion pinkos would likely agree that Castro, > Kim Jong II, and Hu Jintao were left-wingers to the extreme and maybe > Than Shwe of Burma could be added to that jolly group. I think you are defining left wing differently than I am. Yes, the were (or at least claimed to be) _economically_ left-wing. But they are also all high on the authoritarian axis. This is different from the position of the Democratic, and Green parties which both are left wing economically and socially. to say that an authoritarian and economically left-wing dictator is liberal (in the American sense) is just plain wrong. In fact, an Authoritarian-left dictator is no closer to the Libertarian-Right (Democrats) than to the Authoritarian-Right (republicans). > [@](#): > > But as a > point in fact, all dictatorships are philosophical lefties inasmuch as they > both redistribute the country’s wealth. What are you talking about? Some dictators have favored redistribution of wealth, but that doesn’t mean that all of them do. Hitler was a centrist (economically), Pinochet was economically right-wing. Why should dictators want to redistribute wealth? Were Saddam’s numerous palaces an example of redeistributing wealth? Merely making an assertion does not make it true, you need to provide some evidence that all dictators favor redistribution of wealth. ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/19 "2004-02-25T02:33:07Z")
Every dictator in history has favored the redistribution of wealth. Generally, they want it redistributed to themselves, their families, and supporters. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MMI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/53a042/32.png) [@MMI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MMI)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951/20 "2004-02-25T02:58:17Z")
Is our current administration left wing? I am most certainly not suggesting that the Bush administration is a dictatorship, but they do seem to want to redistribute wealth from me to certain interest groups, so they must be left wing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-ten-worst-dictators/230951.md?page=2)