Studying the history of politics brings about a strange sense of déjà vu. This is because next to Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union, who waved red flags and shouted for equality, and next to Adolf Hitler of Germany, who hoisted the Swastika and chanted for national glory, there stood identical secret police, concentration camps, and dictators wielding absolute power.
Here, we are compelled to ask a very fundamental question:
"What exactly is a dictatorship? If dictatorship existed on both the Left and the Right, doesn’t that mean dictatorship itself has nothing to do with values or ideologies?"
To cut straight to the chase, this intuition is entirely accurate. The method of control known as a dictatorship has absolutely nothing to do with ideological values like Left or Right. A dictatorship is merely a political "technology" and an "operating system (OS)" invented to maximize and maintain power—much like how a smartphone’s operating system functions identically regardless of which brand’s device it is installed on.
Dictatorship: The Colorless, Odorless Efficiency of Power
In political science, the essence of a dictatorship is simple. It refers to a state where decision-making authority is monopolized by a single individual or a small group, and there are no legal or institutional mechanisms to check it. Within this, there is no good or evil, no Left or Right.
Because democracy requires communicating with, persuading, and reaching a consensus among the masses, it is inevitably slow and noisy. Conversely, a dictatorship takes "perfect order" as its first principle. In times of national crisis or extreme chaos, the overwhelming speed and efficiency of this dictatorship become immensely attractive. When there is a desire for rapid social change or a need to break through a crisis, this is precisely why both the Left and the Right pull out this tempting weapon.
However, to operate this colorless, odorless technology in reality, a "mask of values" is required to persuade the masses. This is because raw force alone cannot perfectly control the public.
Brutal Replicas That Differed Only in Wrapping Paper
When the Left filled the pouch of dictatorship, the value they chose was "equality." They whispered to the masses:
"We must dismantle all classes and create an equal world. But since the capitalists will resist, we temporarily need a powerful state dictatorship (the dictatorship of the proletariat) until equality is fully realized."
On the other hand, when the Right filled the pouch of dictatorship, the value they chose was "freedom and the nation." They shouted in the square:
"We must protect our private property and resurrect the glory of our great nation. But since the communists are ruining the country, we need a powerful dictatorship (fascism) to safeguard national security and the free market."
The logical structure is stunningly identical. They presented entirely different wrapping paper to the masses to justify their rise to power, but the moment you opened the contents, they were replicas that matched with mathematical precision in that they were "dictatorial systems that trampled individual freedom."
When the Means Devour the End
This is where the true terror of the technology called dictatorship lies. A dictatorship is initially introduced as a "means" to protect or realize a noble value. However, as time passes and power becomes entrenched, the dictatorship—which was merely the means—ends up devouring the original purpose (the value) entirely.
The left-wing dictatorship that began for the sake of equality ultimately birthed a "new hierarchical society" where the ordinary masses starved while party officials enjoyed exclusive privileges. The right-wing dictatorship that began for the sake of freedom and the nation ultimately birthed a "prison-like society" that covered the eyes and blocked the ears of all its citizens.
No matter what value was championed, the moment the monster of dictatorship is complete, the original pure value held by that ideology vanishes without a trace. And only one ugly purpose remains: "the preservation of the dictator’s power."
How Not to Be Fooled by the Packaging of Politics
The fact that dictatorships existed on both the Left and the Right is proof that dictatorship is not a matter of ideology, but a universal form of distortion that appears when humans covet power. Dictators always emerge wearing the mask of the most plausible values that the public loves: equality, freedom, nation, and security.
Therefore, when we look at politics, what we must pay attention to is not the noble ideology they proclaim with their mouths, but the "way" they handle power. No matter how sweet a future they promise, if they attempt to monopolize the decision-making process, silence the opposition, and neutralize the system, it is a clear signal that they are running the dangerous operating system known as dictatorship.
The moment we are fooled by the brilliant text on the wrapping paper and hand over the weapon of dictatorship, the values we dreamed of will be the very first things stabbed and destroyed by that weapon. This is why we must coldly decipher the technology of power hidden behind the hypocrisy of ideology.
Leave a Reply