It is an anathema in Western nations for a democratically elected leader to use monarchical language to describe himself, unless of course that person is self-described “philosopher king” Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador.
On Saturday, Bukele was sworn in for a second term in office after winning a landslide reelection victory in February where his opponents failed to garner double-digit support. He is, without a doubt, the most popular democratically elected leader in the world.
Shortly after he was sworn in, Bukele shared a picture of himself saluting a ceremonial armed guard with the caption, “Strong men create good times.” Atop his X profile reads the descriptor “philosopher king.”
But while these statements may make a modern liberal Democrat recoil in disgust, Bukele is appealing to a principle of classical political philosophy that says the greatest and most just rulers are the wisest individuals. The phrase “philosopher king” comes from the writings of Plato.
“Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from their evils — no, nor the human race,” he writes.
In his first five years as president, Bukele has transformed El Salvador. The country that was once the most dangerous in the world, overrun by criminal gangs such as MS-13, now has among the lowest murder rates in the world. The turnaround has been so profound that Salvadorans who left the country to live abroad now want to return home.
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Such a profound change in the culture and way of life in a country does not come about so easily. It requires strong men who are willing to make difficult but wise decisions that serve the common good. And when the common good is served, “good times” come for all.
Bukele has five more years to address the myriad of economic problems that plague his nation, problems he can actually address now that he has made El Salvador a nation where the rule of law stands firm. If the wisdom that informed his first term is any indication, good times are ahead for El Salvador and its philosopher king.