David Patrick Farrar, author of the popular Kiwiblog and self-describedly at the liberal end of the National Party, confesses this morning that in his quiet moments he sometimes yearns for the iron fist of a political dictator. Coincidentally, his confession is posted just as the National-led government bring in sweeping near-dictatorial powers to “deal with” everything arising from the Canterbury earthquake, and then some.
“Technically we could be seen as a dictatorship,” he begins. And technically, of course, he’s right. But that’s the good news, you see.
In modern history, a dictator is seen as an evil bad ruler – Hitler, Stalin, Kim, Hussein etc. They have absolute rule for life. We definitely do not have that sort of dictatorship.
But a long time ago, a dictator was seen in positive lights – in fact some dictators are seen as democratic heroes….
Mark this on your calendar. September 16, 2010: the day David Farrar expressed his support for dictatorship.
But then, he always was a Muldoon man.
[Hat tip Dim Post]
UPDATE: David Slack:
5 comments:
I hereby nominate Peter Cresswel for NZ overlord.
With the passing of this legislation National should now apologise for everything nasty they ever said about Fijian governments.
Perhap Fiji should now place embargos on us.
Kenneth
To be fair to DPF who hasn't imagined a benevolent dictator who sets NZ in libertarian order and then steps down and vanishes from sight and mind?
Of course the whole "power corrupts" thing will ensure it remains only a daydream.
Plato's dream realized. Wonder what he'd think...
The passing of the new legislation just underlines the fact that the present legislation (RMA etc)is just a load of unnessessary red tape.
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