>>514968418
>The more liberal and parliamentarian they became the more they squandered their wealth
America's system of government hasn't been autocratic, arguably it's becoming more so in recent times but still much less than somewhere like Russia or Cuba.
Britain, as an example, during the height of the Empire wasn't a dictatorship for either.
Autocracies don't function efficiently because you end up with grovelling sycophants surrounding the boss telling him what he wants to hear. You can see this on smaller scales than the government level too.
For example, in the US military there's push and pull between the top brass and the government. You can see this in ww2 with generals like Patton arguing with Eisenhower, and it happens at a smaller scale within the military too. This is something that dictatorships don't have if the culture is 'carry out the orders unquestioningly'.
