Yes, because an autocrat can only maintain their power by suppressing the people.
You'll notice that there are zero countries with openly authoritarian governments that have a first-world standard of living. The reason for that is that the wealthy and the educated are an existential threat to the rule of the authoritarian government- thus it is to the rulers' advantage to always keep its people ignorant and poor. That's all well and good for the ruler, but it's obviously disastrous for a country's growth.
Originally posted by Tzeentch
Yes, because an autocrat can only maintain their power by suppressing the people.You'll notice that there are zero countries with openly authoritarian governments that have a first-world standard of living. The reason for that is that the wealthy and the educated are an existential threat to the rule of the authoritarian government- thus it is to the rulers' advantage to always keep its people ignorant and poor. That's all well and good for the ruler, but it's obviously disastrous for a country's growth.