when a big problem arises, the leader almost always assumes "temporary dictatorial control", to tackle the problem.

Yeah - which leads to Makeshifts last the longest as our Aristotle quoteth...

AFAIK Perl came into being as a makeshift to solve some pressing problems of its inventor. Now that perl is widely accepted, it seems to me that the next evolutionary step is to establish that makeshift to address all computational makeshifts whatsoever (eq 'pressing problems') the people involved in its design are keen enough to point at. Therefore, its design is doomed to be - a makeshift, again. The implementation follows...

Of course, the design of Perl 6 is the decision of those which actually do the design of Perl 6 - so its autocratic. You can't force an individual to be innovative, much less a community.