ABSTRACT
From the viewpoint of economic theory, there is no fundamental conflict between planning and dictatorship. Indeed, dictatorship facilitates the task of planning because the characterization of the welfare preference does not have to face the so-called voting paradox. Development of dictatorial manners in a person seems to coincide with the evolution of the feeling that the person "knows it all" and with increasing intolerance of disagreements. The planner's major task is to provide the decision maker with information about the efficiency of economic policies. Iran's experience with economic planning under the two regimes provides an interesting example of the interactions between planning and dictatorship. The dynamics of personal dictatorship require that the ruler's role in the management of the country be intensified. The shah's dictatorship was even more complicated because it was based on the politics of distrust. The military rule would then require a strong commander, and the country, including its economy, would be governed through personal dictatorship.
