Benevolent Dictator

I can’t ever remember hearing of a dictatorship that worked for the benefit of the people. Things certainly didn’t go right under the communist regimes of Joseph Stalin or Nicholas Caucesceau. Humanity breathed a sigh of relief at their passing. What is so captivating about power that those who have it often cling on long past their use by date? Recently, when considering the dire state of affairs in our world, a friend suggested that what we really need is a ‘benevolent dictator’ to run the show. Someone who takes the tough decisions for the good of the whole and yet can resist the trappings of self-aggrandisement. Does such a creature exist? I think so, at least on a small scale. I think it’s called the human body. It is said that every cell in the body is replaced over a seven year period. The job’s done quietly and continuously so that we don’t even notice. The cells of the intestine may change every week. Blood cells last a little longer and bone cells last the longest. But all of them die; there’s no avoidance of this natural process. David Attenborough has amazed us with his films of the natural world. He has shown us how animal herds collectively choose which way to go in search of a watering hole, how shoals of fish bunch together to confuse predators and how herds of wildebeest cross crocodile infested rivers during their migration. There are always losers of course. The slow and elderly gazelles most commonly become the meals of predators and perhaps more randomly some wildebeest get torn apart as they ‘take one for the team’. In balance however the herds are fitter, faster and of manageable size. No one animal ever decided which way to go or who should live or die. Nature, when working properly, orchestrates everything perfectly. Perhaps things only go astray when a creature has no natural predator to keep its numbers in check. Humans are on the top of the species tree. Isn’t it remarkable that our species, endowed with big brains and opposing digits, should so misuse its free will as to bring all life on earth to the brink of extinction? My early career, as an electronics engineer, was both interesting and rewarding. Technical challenges were overcome, technology advanced and we marvelled at how nature can be harnessed for our purpose. But now humanity has become like a mountaineer who climbs a mountain just because it’s there, just because it’s possible – regardless of whether it’s actually necessary. But unlike the mountaineer who wagers his own skill and life against the elements, faceless money-men exploit the talents of scientists and engineers to wager not only our lives but the very future of our planet. We have artificially created our own predator – ourselves. Rather than pool our collective wisdom, as in nature’s examples, to choose our best way forward, we have abdicated responsibility for our lives to others only too happy to enslave us. We have frittered away our natural inheritance in favour of a suicidal exploitation of nature’s resources. Our species will evolve to an era of collaboration and collective growth only when we can grow beyond the fears that divide us. We need to recognise that collectively we can become a benevolent dictator for humanity. Just as a parent will guide the development of a child and not lose hope when things go badly, our collective wisdom, if allowed to express itself, will prove itself the benevolent dictator we need for our species to survive.