Dictatorship – a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator – they are not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.
Democracy – Government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is retained and directly exercised by the people through representatives as chosen by the people.
Dictatorship still exists.
Some countries are not seen as “free”. Imagine having someone tell you what to do all the time. Forcing you to do things that you didn’t want to and forcing you to believe in their ways. Shouldn’t we all be allowed our own opinion?
As at January 1993 almost a third of the worlds population lived in countries classed as “not free”. Countries that have extremely restricted political rights. Citizens in these countries are not allowed to say that they don’t like the way their country is being run.
Elections are not available under dictatorships as a way of changing the law. Dictators do not like allowing elections that could remove them from power.
Hitler is a perfect example of a Dictator. He tricked or forced his own government to give him power and then shut them out and passed laws to suit himself. He made a law that stated that no political parties could be created and that the Nazi party was the only legal political party in Germany. The Nazi military would patrol the streets making sure that everyone was behind them. If you were a traitor you’d be sent to a concentration camp or be gotten rid of.
Slowly over the last 20 years dictatorships have collapsed because of the defiance of their own people.
The collapse of dictatorships has not erased all other problems in society. There is still poverty, crime, environmental destruction and these are often left over from the legacy of such regimes. But bringing down such a regime paves the way to start building a new society. It gives people hope and starts to stop the suffering and promote social justice.
Ram a Dictator?
In Series 4 of The Tribe, The Technos invaded the city. Their leader Ram provided the city with water and electricity in return for overall power. He put in place punishment programs and if the city rebelled he had ways and means of keeping them in line. When the first rebellion was launched Ram cut off the power. The children of Tribeworld were used to not having power but having it for a short period, knowing it was available and then having it taken away was devastating. They were almost willing to co-operate again.
Techno’s would patrol the streets looking for rebels and sending them off to work in the coal mines. Others were taken away to work elsewhere. Anyone that got in the way of the Techno’s could be “deleted” – vanish completely, not just from the system but from the city.
Then there is “Paradise”. The Techno’s introduced a “drug” for the people of the city. Yet another way to create chaos and to keep the population under their control. People became dependant on “Paradise” and in their eyes the Techno’s were great. They were providing entertainment for everyone. Any other Tribe trying to overthrow the Techno’s and threaten the supply of “Paradise” was seen as a threat to their habit. The Techno’s control was widening. Until the Mallrats stepped in…
At the end of series 4 a new power emerged. Mega and Java worked together with the Mallrats to overthrow Ram. Little did the Mallrats realise that Mega had much bigger plans for the city.
Mega was more ruthless than Ram. He was happy to manipulate the other Tribe leaders to promote his own Tribe and to run the city. He made a punishment program and made sure that everyone in the city knew what they were in for if they defied the Techno’s.
He made Amber of the Mallrats the President of the city against her will. He threatened the life of her child and she had no choice but to go along with it.
There will always be people in the world that want to