In 2011, we witnessed the fall or death of dictators in various countries. For example, Mubarak in Egypt had to dishonorably resign from his post after 30 years of ruthless rule, forced out by mass protests by the Egyptian people. In October, Gaddafi of Libya was killed by angry rebels after 42 years of iron-fisted rule. Who in the world would have expected that the mighty Gaddafi, who had wielded absolute power as the “King of Kings” in North Africa, and had antagonized the West with various terrorist activities, would be brutally murdered by those whom he called mobsters? Then in December, Kim Jong-il of North Korea, who ruled the country for 17 years, died of a heart attack. 

History tells us that some dictators were lucky enough to enjoy a long life, but most of them have committed suicide, or have been ousted or killed by protesters in the end. For example, the infamous Roman dictator, Nero, committed suicide, after being condemned by the Senate as a “public enemy” of the Roman Empire. Another notorious Roman dictator, Caligula, was assassinated by his Praetorian Guard officers. In modern times, Hitler committed suicide after the Third Reich collapsed, and Stalin died of a stroke after his health deteriorated after World War II. Hitler and Stalin well illustrate that both the left and the right, if pushed to the extremes, are ultimately “the same creeping horrors”; the number of people massacred by the two dictators is simply astronomical. More recently, Saddam Hussein of Iraq was executed after being sentenced to death in court.

In South Korea, too, its two dictators met tragic ends. Syngman Rhee, the first president of the Republic, had to step down and was exiled till his death due to the 4/19 Student Revolution, and Park Chung-hee, who ruled the country for 18 years under a military dictatorship, was assassinated by his intelligence chief. In ancient Chinese history as well, nearly all dictators have been assassinated or forced to commit suicide in the end. Initially, they busily savored the sweetness of absolute power. Gradually, however, they lost power and became too cruel, repressive and corrupt to sustain their rule and were killed by their political foes, dissidents or angry crowds.

Yet, dictators still persist in many Third World countries, relishing political power, persecuting dissidents and repressing people. Naively, they assume their power will be everlasting. But someday, there may be uprisings and they may be hunted down by mad crowds that chant “Down with Tyranny!” or “Freedom!” Chased by angry crowds and running for their lives, they may regret not giving up the throne earlier, but it will be already too late to undo what has been done. Dictators are easily intoxicated by absolute power and often miss opportunities to give up before it is too late.

Dictators are often reluctant to resign from their posts because they are afraid that once removed from power, they may be arrested and imprisoned by their successors. The result is often a two- or three-generation dictatorship, with dictators bequeathing their throne to their own sons. Or there is another way to be safe and sound after you step down from power; select a simpleton or a weakling as your successor, who then will be either blindly loyal to you, or never indict you out of concern for his own political survival. So the vicious circle of dictatorship continues.

However, the age of dictatorships seems to be over now. In this postmodern era in which people communicate via smart phones and iPads instantly, and surf the Internet constantly, being a dictator is not an easy thing to do; you can no longer control information and repress people. People know what is going on in the world and any piece of news can spread around the globe instantly. And most know, as Thoreau puts it in “Civil Disobedience,” “that government is best which governs least.”

In 2012, we should put an end to dictatorships and bid farewell to all remaining dictators in the world. In its Dec. 19 issue, Time magazine chose “The Protester” as the Person of the Year. Indeed, it was the protesters who recently ousted the dictators and put an end to dictatorship in such countries as Egypt and Libya. It seems all the tyrannical regimes on earth are beginning to collapse here and there and dictators are vanishing from the earth.

In his farewell address to the U.S. Congress, General Douglas MacArthur said: “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.” Likewise, when they retire, professors also sooth themselves, saying: “Old professors never die, they just fade away.” But what can dictators say when they are chased and cornered by angry crowds? Perhaps they may have to say, “Old dictators never fade away, they just die.”

In 2012, let there be no more dictatorships on earth! In the New Year, all dictators should be vanished from the world.

By Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon, a professor of English at Seoul National University, is editor of the literary quarterly “21st Century Literature.” ― Ed.