Question

1) A drought has caused massive food shortages. Your government must decide what action to take.
Democracies Reaction:

Dictatorships Reaction:


2) your government wants to initiate a monumental program in recycling and alternative energy.
Democracies Reaction:

Dictatorship Reaction:


3) Your government wants a constitutional amendment to limit the term in which the leader can stay in office indefinitely.
Democracies Reaction:

Dictatorship Reaction:

Answer 1

Yea well even that wont help this was a last resort

Answer 2

Haven't been on this site in 3 years

Answer 3

Hi, and welcome (back) to QuestionCove!

In a democracy, decisions made by the government are meant to be based on the will of the people. In many cases, elected officials are chosen (by the people) as representatives, and these representatives decide, often through votes, among themselves, what should be done about any given issue.

In a dictatorship, ideas of representation and election are not given priority. The will of the people takes a backseat to the will of the ruler or rulers. In these kinds of societies, rulers will often make decisions in the interest of their own self-interest, rather than that of the citizens or the state as a whole.

Answer 4

It is difficult to predict for sure what any given democratic or dictatorial country would do. In fact, it is possible to imagine that a democracy and a dictatorship would come to similar conclusions in some circumstances, albeit with vastly different processes.

In the case of drought and food shortages, either government might decide: to impose rations on food supplies; increase imports of food from other countries; provide subsidies to food producers; offer financial assistance to citizens for the purpose of purchasing food...
In the case of recycling and alternative energy, either government might decide: to reward these practices financially; put some penalty on failing to recycle or use alternative energy; make it punishable by law to not recycle or use alternative energy; introduce more recycling containers in public spaces; using alternative energy in government buildings; promoting a media campaign about the importance of these practices...

In these two above scenarios, you could argue that a dictatorship might take a different course of action compared to a democracy, and that would be a fair argument. Remember that public servants in a democracy have a duty to represent the citizens; indeed, their power is given to them by the citizens and depends upon the citizens. On the other hand, heads of state in a dictatorship are not bound by these responsibilities; dictators often hold onto power through force, whether military, economic, control of information, etc.

In the case of introducing an amendment to limit the terms that a leader can stay in office, I think it is safe to say that a dictatorship would be less likely to let such an amendment pass at all, given that the rulers in such governments intend to hold as much power as possible for as long as possible. In a democracy, such an amendment would be much more likely to pass, after whatever legal process for making an amendment is carried out (you can refer to the amendment-making process of the United States, for example)