Recognizing a Dictator

During the 2016 election, Helen Andrews gave a lecture on How to Spot a Dictator.  The idea was to determine whether Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton bore the markers of a potential dictator.  Oddly enough, she listed Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the most dictatorial president the United States has yet produced.  FDR implemented two dictatorial strategies.

First, he established a cult of personality.  He was a master of public communication, had a gift for oratory, and convinced people to elect him again and again despite an ongoing Great Depression.  His fireside chats reassured the citizens even as the state of the economy and world didn't much improve.  He was an expert of spin.  In this regard, she said Trump was clearly along this path.  Trump is a salesman who wrote (dictated?) The Art of the Deal.  His entire schtick is to persuade voters to do what was unprecedented; elect a man with neither governmental nor military experience.  Amazingly, he carried that off in the primaries.  Yes, clearly a cult of personality figure.

Second, FDR established clientelism.  Prior to the Great Depression, the government was not in the habit of distributing money to the citizens, either through job programs or handouts.  To tackle the massive unemployment and poverty, FDR championed funds for relief to the states and later Social Security for the elderly.  There was also the Civilian Conservation Corps, a public works program.  Prior to the depression, the government-maintained pensions for veterans and career civil servants.  Afterwards, everyone who lived long enough would get a check from the government.  Once established, it ballooned: Medicare, WIC, SNAP, Drug Benefits, Obamacare, etc.  Now, if you vote wrong, your entitlements might be eliminated by the other party.  Yes, this is a common refrain in many election seasons and created a permanent threat by the government against the voters.  Andrews puts Clinton into this mode.

So, which is worse?  Do you go with the personality or the "gift" giver.  Which is less dangerous to your future?  Check out the video.