Oriental despotism refers to the Western view of Asian societies as politically or morally more suspectible to despotic rule, and therefore different from the democratic West. This view is often pejorative.[1][2] The term is often associated with Karl August Wittfogel's 1957 book Oriental Despotism.[3]

Historical conceptions

Ancient Greek

Of all the ancient Greeks, Aristotle was perhaps the most influential promoter of the concept of oriental despotism. He passed this ideology to his student, Alexander the Great, who conquered the Achaemenid Empire, which at the time was ruled by the despotic Darius III, the last king of the Achaemenid dynasty. Aristotle asserted that oriental despotism was not based on force, but on consent. Hence, fear could not be said to be its motivating force, but rather the servile nature of those enslaved, which would feed upon the power of the despot master.

Within ancient Greek society, every Greek man was free and capable of holding office; both able to rule and be ruled. In contrast, among the barbarians, all were slaves by nature. Another difference Aristotle espoused was based on climates. He observed that the peoples of cold countries, especially those of Europe, were full of spirit but deficient in skill and intelligence, and that the peoples of Asia, although endowed with skill and intelligence, were deficient in spirit and hence were subjected to slavery. Possessing both spirit and intelligence, the Greeks were free to govern all other peoples.[4]

For the historian Herodotus, it was the way of the Orient to be ruled by autocrats and, even though Oriental, the character faults of despots were no more pronounced than the ordinary man's, though given to much greater opportunity for indulgence. The story of Croesus of Lydia exemplifies this. Leading up to Alexander's expansion into Asia, most Greeks were repelled by the Oriental notion of a sun-king, and the divine law that Oriental societies accepted. Herodotus's version of history advocated a society where men became free when they consented lawfully to the social contract of their respective city-state.

Montesquieu

The concept of despotism, and especially oriental despotism, entered European political thought with Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws in the 18th century. The idea was not new or unique to Montesquieu's work, but Montesquieu's work is widely regarded as having been the most influential on modern political thought.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Rubiés, Joan-Pau (2005-01-01). "Oriental Despotism and European Orientalism: Botero to Montesquieu". Journal of Early Modern History. 9 (1–2): 109–180. doi:10.1163/1570065054300275. ISSN 1385-3783.
  2. ↑ Yoon, Kate (June 2023). "Oriental Despotism and the Limits of Doux Commerce , from Montesquieu to Raynal". Political Theory. 51 (3): 456–480. doi:10.1177/00905917221134718. ISSN 0090-5917.
  3. ↑ Mote, F. W. (1961). "The Growth of Chinese despotism: A critique of Wittfogel's theory of Oriental Despotism as applied to China". Oriens Extremus. 8 (1): 1–41. ISSN 0030-5197.
  4. ↑ See: Politics (Aristotle) 7.1327b
  5. ↑ Grafton, Anthony; Blair, Ann (1998). The Transmission of Culture in Early Modern Europe. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 174.
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