Yeah, if they were Western societies, this is exactly right and that's what a dictator would need to do to stop people criticising them.
But these are not Western societies. In SE Asian countries, you don't criticise your boss, even in private. Not because your boss will retaliate, but because it's incredibly rude. I worked for a while in Cambodia and it became clear that for the Khmer saying "I disagree with you, boss" was the equivalent of an American taking a dump on the boss's desk.
This behaviour is not driven by fear, but by an idea of social cohesion, social harmony, that we in the West don't have and don't understand.
But these are not Western societies. In SE Asian countries, you don't criticise your boss, even in private. Not because your boss will retaliate, but because it's incredibly rude. I worked for a while in Cambodia and it became clear that for the Khmer saying "I disagree with you, boss" was the equivalent of an American taking a dump on the boss's desk.
This behaviour is not driven by fear, but by an idea of social cohesion, social harmony, that we in the West don't have and don't understand.