Since the history territory is deader than Vitalik Buterin's wang, I thought I would ask this on askSN.
Who for you was the worst dictator or tyrant in history?
There are plenty of contenders, I tend to think of the worst as those of the past 100 years or so, simply because in the colonial days, everyone was a bastard.
That being said, I think Pol Pot was the worst. The reason why is because he achieved nothing while causing maximum destruction. Other dictators left behind nations that at least functioned after their rule - Pol Pot left Cambodia a graveyard, a failed state that took decades to recover. His rule was an exercise in self-destruction with no redeeming qualities.
the whole idea of turning a country into an agrarian communist utopia was retarded.
Other highlights of idiocy:
He abolished money, private property, and education.
He closed schools, hospitals, and banks, forcing people into agrarian labor camps.
He executed doctors, teachers, engineers, leaving Cambodia without skilled professionals.
People with glasses were getting arrested and executed because glasses were thought to mean a person was an intellectual (as a glasses wearer, I can assure you, this is not true).
there is a good doc on this called the Killing Fields
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMLz0eIihcY
What about you guys, who gets your vote?