Benevolence means a disposition or act of doing good; it is a desire to promote the happiness and welfare of others, often expressed through kindness, goodwill, or charitable acts.

The potential for a “benevolent dictator”to actually improve the status of any country is remote.  This is surely the case for Donald Trump!

 History has shown that dictatorships are consistently vulnerable to critical weaknesses, including:

• A high risk of corruption: Absolute power often leads to exploitation, as dictators and their inner circles use their position to extract wealth from the state.  This is already evident with Donald Trump.
• Lack of accountability: With no checks and balances, the population is left vulnerable to the whims and abuses of a single leader who cannot be voted out of office.  This is already evident with Donald Trump.
• Devolving into oppression: A leader’s initial good intentions can easily be subverted by the corrupting influence of absolute power, leading to atrocities and the brutal suppression of dissent.  This is already evident with Donald Trump.
• Economic stagnation: The absence of merit-based institutions and the suppression of free thought can hinder a country’s long-term economic and social development, leading to eventual stagnation.  It appears that under the current Trump administration, this is taking place.

Based on events under Donald Trump’s presidential administration, there are ongoing concerns and debates about a slide toward the absence of merit-based institutions. Critics point to actions targeting the civil service and higher education as evidence of an effort to prioritize political loyalty and an ideology-driven version of “merit” over established, objective criteria. Conversely, supporters of Trump’s policies argue they are necessary to reform institutions, ensure accountability, and restore a genuine, unbiased meritocracy.

A key area of concern is the federal civil service, which is built on a merit-based system designed to ensure a nonpartisan, professional bureaucracy.

• • • Schedule F and Schedule Policy/Career: In late 2020, Trump issued Executive Order 13957, known as “Schedule F,” which would have stripped employment protections from tens of thousands of federal employees, allowing them to be fired at will. The Biden administration rescinded the order, but Trump reinstated a similar policy, renamed “Schedule Policy/Career” (or Schedule P/C), in January 2025.

• • • • • Expansion of political appointees: Critics argue that Schedule P/C and the newly created “Schedule G” would fundamentally change the nature of the civil service by filling career roles with political appointees. In effect, this would create a “crony meritocracy” where loyalty, not expertise, is the primary factor for hiring and promotion, potentially shattering the nonpartisan civil service.
        • Supporter’s perspective: Proponents argue that Schedule P/C is necessary to remove “deep state” employees who are working against the president’s agenda. They contend that a small number of career bureaucrats have become unaccountable and that these changes will enhance efficiency by streamlining the removal of underperforming or corrupt workers.

A key area of concern is the federal civil service, which is built on a merit-based system designed to ensure a nonpartisan, professional bureaucracy.

• • • Schedule F and Schedule Policy/Career: In late 2020, Trump issued Executive Order 13957, known as “Schedule F,” which would have stripped employment protections from tens of thousands of federal employees, allowing them to be fired at will. The Biden administration rescinded the order, but Trump reinstated a similar policy, renamed “Schedule Policy/Career” (or Schedule P/C), in January 2025.

• • • • • Expansion of political appointees: Critics argue that Schedule P/C and the newly created “Schedule G” would fundamentally change the nature of the civil service by filling career roles with political appointees. In effect, this would create a “crony meritocracy” where loyalty, not expertise, is the primary factor for hiring and promotion, potentially shattering the nonpartisan civil service.
        • Supporter’s perspective: Proponents argue that Schedule P/C is necessary to remove “deep state” employees who are working against the president’s agenda. They contend that a small number of career bureaucrats have become unaccountable and that these changes will enhance efficiency by streamlining the removal of underperforming or corrupt workers.

• Instability upon removal: The stability of a dictatorship is artificial. When the dictator is eventually removed, the regime’s collapse can trigger massive instability and civil conflict, as was the case in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein.  Let’s wait and see if this occurs after Trump is removed from office.

Much of the information above was obtained from AI.

Posted August 29, 2025 by Score Card