<P> The idea of benevolent dictator has a long history . It can be traced back to John Stuart Mill in his classic On Liberty (1869). Although he argued in favor of democratic rights for individuals, he did make an exception for what we called today's developing countries: </P> <P> "We may leave out of consideration those backward states of society in which the race itself may be considered as in its nonage . Despotism is legitimate...in dealing with barbarians, provided the end be their improvement...Liberty has no application to any (such) state of things ." </P> <P> Benevolent dictator was also a popular rhetoric in the early 20th century as a support for colonial rulings . A British colonial official called Lord Hailey said in 1940s "A new conception of our relationship...may emerge as part of the movement for the betterment of the backward peoples of the world ." Hailey conceived economic development as a justification for colonial power . </P> <P> In the Spanish language, the pun word dictablanda is sometimes used for a dictatorship conserving some of the liberties and mechanisms of democracy . The pun is that, in Spanish, dictadura is "dictatorship", dura is "hard" and blanda is "soft". Analogously, the same pun is made in Portuguese as ditabranda or ditamole . In February 2009, the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo ran an editorial classifying the military dictatorship in Brazil (1964--1985) as a "ditabranda", creating controversy . </P>

Who said the best form of government is a benevolent dictatorship