21/02/2011 11:48:26 am
The Contradictions of Dictatorship. The regime of Ghadafi is of a more ruthless nature than those of Tunis and Egypt. Already the death toll seems to be significant, and now the threats against the protesters are open. The son of Muammar Ghadafi is threatening with civil war. To me, it is not a mystery how dictators can be ruthless, but not how they can live with apparent contradictions. They want to create the impression that they have popular support, so they command people to demonstrate for them. Isn′t that an apparent contradiction in terms? Either you have to realize that you are a dictator or you have to compete with others to get popular support. That is the choice. If you do have popular support, you don′t have to uphold oppression.