> The former is a lie and the latter a fairy tale.
There would be a good technical reason for that: neither are possible, particularly if you are a follower of Machiavelli.
In “The Prince” our friend Niccolo outlines the skills that would be necessary to run what amounts to a Dictatorship. Benevolence is not one of those skills: in fact, it could get the dictator killed dead. It is better to be feared than to be loved.
In “The Republic” he describes his vision on how a Republic should work. Public participation and debate cause internal conflicts that strengthen the Republic and provide checks against abuse of power: these are hardly efficient, by necessity. The Republic is the anti-Medici anti-Dictatorship. Dictatorships are efficient: Republics are not.