Elected Dictator

Autocrats and their minions rule five dozen countries today. What is surprising to me is that most were elected to govern. Judicious and freedom-loving people are baffled by the eagerness to be governed by a strongman. Perhaps, there is no surprise as that impulse to give away power to a dictator is as old as the Torah.

At the precipice of entering the Promised Land, Moses warns the people about giving power to a king.

כִּֽי־תָבֹ֣א אֶל־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ נֹתֵ֣ן לָ֔ךְ וִֽירִשְׁתָּ֖הּ וְיָשַׁ֣בְתָּה בָּ֑הּ וְאָמַרְתָּ֗ אָשִׂ֤ימָה עָלַי֙ מֶ֔לֶךְ כְּכׇל־הַגּוֹיִ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר סְבִיבֹתָֽי׃

“If, after you have entered the land that your God יהוה has assigned to you, and taken possession of it and settled in it, you decide, “I will set a king over me, as do all the nations about me,”  Deut. 17:14

Notice the subtlety revealed by the language. While addressing the nation, Moses notes that individuals will decide to have a king. This warning reminds us that individuals are complicit in delivering power to a ruler, just as the Germans elected Hitler. Subsequently, in history, dozens of dictators have used the electoral system to take power.

The Torah sets limits on the kind of person who should serve as king. The King should not have too many horses (wealth) or too many wives (greed and lust).  Rather, the King should keep a copy of the Torah at their side. “Thus he will not act haughtily toward his fellows or deviate from the Instruction to the right or to the left, to the end that he and his descendants may reign long in the midst of Israel.”

Of course, Solomon, the third king to rule, had a surfeit of both horses and wives. Both his wisdom and hubris were on full display. Perhaps it is also a character trait of those who would be rulers to consolidate and even abuse power.

While the Hebrew Kings were born to their station as descendants of David, modern autocrats most often pursue power through electoral processes. It has happened in Hungary, Egypt, Venezuela, Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia and Nigeria. Perhaps anyone who pursues power should be suspect. In order to establish a foothold, they manufacture crises to legitimize their rule. Then, these autocrats subvert democracy by weaponizing their public support. According to Alexander Matovksi, “By mimicking democracy – allowing multiparty elections, oppositions and somewhat free markets and media – they [keep] authoritarianism alive in most places across the world.” The electoral process should serve as a check on the impertinence and even despotic nature of some politicians. A free press questions their motives. Campaign speeches reveal their personalities. And a reported history of public service portrays their skills.

Once again, the Torah is a great predictor of our times. Some people living in a blessed land like the United States are willing to elect a self-styled King. The Torah warns us this time of year, corresponding to campaign season, that we should not give power to despotic rulers.

Rabbi Evan J. Krame