[harrall]

But I think that is overly presumptuous though.

Some people have a different moral framework. Some people think Saddam’s brutal dictatorship was for the better because it finally brought stability. When forced to choose between stability and freedom, they choose stability.

There are also just simply amoral people too who just don’t care.

So I wouldn’t automatically assume someone working in an “evil” regime as “trapped as a cog” — they might frankly be OK with it. This is why sometimes just cutting off the head doesn’t enact change.

[Eddy_Viscosity2]

"When forced to choose between stability and freedom"

Who created the illusion of this binary decision? I'll bet it was the dictator.

[jdw64]

That is what makes the world interesting. You, unlike the unthinking people I was describing, are different. You are different from those who do not reflect on the final outcome of a subject and do not empathize with it, because you can empathize with a life trapped within a particular system or framework. I also do not think you are wrong. All context must ultimately be judged according to the situation. In some respects, I think you are right. And that is a good thing. We are different people, we think differently, and I like that difference in thinking.

[oliculipolicula]

Careful "bro", that way is "multiculturalism*", "moral relativism" & further, "nihilism".

In other words, I don't think either of yous' thoughts are incompatible with "universal morality", but indeed two small steps towards it

*Eg Cheese and kimchi (with enough pepper) are both tasty, or both disgusting, or one but not the other, and you should never/always consider feeding the dictator with either

[RetroTechie]

Perhaps the world 'needs' a few dictators to remind those not living under their thumb how great that is.

So.. maybe not try too hard to have the very concept of dictatorship go extinct? </sarcasm>

[oliculipolicula]

I meant only that one could try and preserve 'dictators' as a sensory experience. But not necessarily an actual experience.