"Well, I would say that, as long-term institutions, I am totally against dictatorships. But a dictatorship may be a necessary system for a transitional period. At times it is necessary for a country to have, for a time, some form or other of dictatorial power. As you will understand, it is possible for a dictator to govern in a liberal way. And it is also possible for a democracy to govern with a total lack of liberalism. Personally I prefer a liberal dictator to democratic government lacking liberalism. My personal impression — and this is valid for South America — is that in Chile, for example, we will witness a transition from a dictatorial government to a liberal government. And during this transition it may be necessary to maintain certain dictatorial powers, not as something permanent, but as a temporary arrangement."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Friedrich Hayek, Interview in El Mercurio (1981)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Democracy
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Democracy
306 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Democracy →
Related Quotes
"Kansanvalta on puhunut, pulinat pois! (Minister Johannes Virolainen, Suomenmaa 1980)"
"I cannot be brought to believe that this country will suffer if the Court refuses further to aggrandize the president…"
"You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists."
"The only way to practice democracy, is to practice democracy."
"... our democracy is merely nominal. We have a kakistocracy of plutocrat and proletariat for agents and beneficiaries…"
"Democracy is a system where people are counted but not weighed."
"The basic ideals and concepts of rationalist metaphysics were rooted in the concept of the universally human, of mank…"
"Although the quest for or preservation of “democracy” is often used as a justification for war, history has incessant…"
"Democracy has nothing to do with freedom. Democracy is a soft variant of communism, and rarely in the history of idea…"
"By means of ever more effective methods of mind-manipÂulation, the democracies will change their nature; the quaint o…"