Embedded in the philosophy of democracy is that people are smart: the mass of people, with free and open deliberation, will make the good decisions.
Embedded in the philosopy of an autocratic form of government is that people are stupid: the mass of people will make bad decisions. (This justifies suppressing dissent.)
Cynically, this looks like an argument for autocratic, because people are stupid. But there is a risk:
Embedded in the philosophy of democracy is that the mass of people won't make really, really bad decisions.
Embedded in the philosophy of autocratism is that the autocratic ruler won't make the same really, really bad decisions that's befallen every single autocratic ruler in the past: absolute power corrupts absolutely.
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