Benevolent dictator is still just a dictator. As he grows older, he cares more about staying in power than following current trends. China wanted to prevent this with their 10 year rule for the general secretary but Xi changfed that and that was his biggest mistake.
Democracy's weakness (politicians focusing just on next election cycle) is also its biggest strength. It allows change and adaptation.
No, a benevolent dictator is the best form of rule. If he cares more about staying in power than anything else, then he's not benevolent.
There have been many historical examples of benevolent dictators. I can't think of any in modern history. Xi certainly isn't, and never was.
Democracy can avoid the problem of dictatorial systems by allowing the people the ability to get rid of bad rulers, at the expense of usually getting crappy rulers who only focus on the next election cycle, and frequently getting sociopathic narcissists in power.
