Legal Definition of Despotism

Thus, the world is doomed to see a steady increase in despotism, war, civil war, impoverishment, fanaticism and genocide. Over time, the iron fist of Fujimori`s reform naturally evolved into the well-known Latin American despotism, largely supported by Montesino`s intrigues. Western theorists have used despotism as a borderline case, as a reductio ad absurdum of the concentration of power. For Burke, it was «the simplest form of government,» the rule over the will of one man. For Bentham, it was an evil form, the opposite of the evil of anarchy. Their common assumptions about the actual workings of the Ottoman, Chinese, Persian, and Mughal empires can be described as too simplistic when not really wrong, and the use of the term has degenerated into mere political booing, indistinguishable from «tyranny,» «dictatorship,» or «absolutism.» If you believe that despotism is evil now on a world scale, wait until there is no great power that advocates, encourages, and supports in any form or mode: despotism can also describe tyranny, the exercise of power through cruelty and terror. It is often used in reference to a country ruled by a dictator, but despotism can describe any situation characterized by oppression and threats. If your sister threatens to send all your friends embarrassing pictures of your baby if you don`t let her control the TV remote, that`s despotism. The Enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu believed that despotism was an appropriate government for large states. Similarly, he believed that republics were suitable for small states and that monarchies were ideal for medium-sized states. As the attention of the new emperor was diverted by the slightest amusement, he wasted many months in his luxurious journey from Syria to Italy, spending his first winter after his victory at Nicomedia and postponing his triumphal entry into the capital until the following summer.[7] But a faithful image, which preceded his arrival and was placed by his immediate command on the altar of victory in the Senate, conveyed to the Romans the just but unworthy similarity of his person and customs.

He was drawn in his priestly robes of silk and gold, according to the fluid fashion of the Medes and Phoenicians; His head was covered with a high tiara, his many necklaces and bracelets were decorated with priceless precious stones. His eyebrows were colored black and his cheeks painted with an artificial red and white. The sincere senators confessed with a sigh that Rome, having long known the harsh tyranny of its own countrymen, had finally been humiliated under the effeminate luxury of Eastern despotism. (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Book One, Chapter Six) The complaints of these nobles about what they called the despotism of the new governor general, that they felt excluded from participation in the state secrets they had long indulged in, in a country where one can derive so much benefit from knowing in advance what is coming to the siege. Edward Gibbon has suggested that the increasing use of Eastern despotism by Roman emperors was an important factor in the fall of the Roman Empire, especially since the reign of Elagabal: the word itself seems to have been rejected by opponents of Louis XIV. of the France in the 1690s, who used the term despotism to describe the somewhat free exercise of power by their monarch. The word is ultimately of Greek origin, and in ancient Greek usage, a despot (despótes) was technically a master who ruled in a house over those who were slaves or servants by nature. [5] In its classical form, despotism is a condition in which a single individual (the despot) possesses all the power and authority that embodies the state, and all others are a subsidiary person.

This form of despotism was common in early forms of state and civilization; the pharaoh of Egypt is an exemplary figure of the classical despot. Aristotle began an important tradition of Western thought by distinguishing Persian «despotism» from Greek tyranny. Tyranny was usurped, power unstable exercised by force, while despotism was stubborn and stable, dependent on the acquiescence of the people, often the only authority they knew and therefore essentially legal. So it was an Eastern phenomenon because the free Greek peoples would not tolerate it for long. The category of Eastern despotism is almost universal in Western political thought. Montesquieu, in particular, developed the category in his book L`Esprit des lois, published in 1748. Even the most absolute of Western monarchies was not despotism, he argued, because the monarch was bound by the law, whose legitimacy was justified by the same reasoning as his authority. However, he noticed a tendency of the French monarchy to degenerate into despotism, like some of his contemporaries, and after the Revolution of 1789 it became customary to call the Ancien Régime despotism. The Church is autonomous and not necessarily tied to what they call despotism, beginning to see it as a divine institution and returning to its flock. The English dictionary defines despotism as «the rule of a despot; the exercise of absolute authority». [3] According to Montesquieu, the difference between absolute monarchy and despotism is that in the case of monarchy, a single person with absolute power governs according to fixed and established laws, while a despot governs according to his own will and whims. [8] In enlightened absolutism (also known as benevolent despotism), which was used in 18th century Europe, enlightened absolutism (also known as benevolent despotism) was found in 18th century Europe.

Absolute monarchs have used their authority to carry out a series of reforms in the political systems and societies of their countries. This movement was most likely triggered by the ideas of the Enlightenment. To accept that violence works is to accept the science of despotism from the beginning of human existence. Of all the ancient Greeks, Aristotle was perhaps the most influential promoter of the concept of Eastern despotism. He passed on this ideology to his disciple Alexander the Great, who conquered the Achaemenid Empire, ruled at the time by the despotic Darius III, the last king of the Achaemenid dynasty. Aristotle asserted that Eastern despotism was not based on violence, but on consent. Therefore, it could not be said that fear was their motivating force, but rather the submissive nature of the slaves, which would feed on the power of the despotic master. In ancient Greek society, every Greek was free and able to hold office; Both can govern and be governed. On the other hand, among the barbarians, all were slaves by nature. Another difference advocated by Aristotle was based on climate. He noted that the peoples of cold countries, especially those of Europe, were witty, but lacked skill and intelligence, and that the peoples of Asia, although endowed with skill and intelligence, lacked spirit and were therefore subject to slavery. The Greeks possessed both mind and intelligence and were free to rule all other peoples.

[4] Marx saw collaboration between all workers—white-collar workers and the unemployed—in the unions as a means of destroying what he called the despotism of capitalism. Despotism (Greek: Δεσποτισμός, Despotismós) is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. Normally, this entity is an individual, the despot, as in an autocracy, but societies that limit respect and power to certain groups have also been labeled as despotic. [1] The difference between an understandable legislative process and despotism is transparency. Despotism is a way of governing in which the leader has total and unchecked power. Joseph Stalin cleansed the Soviet Union of all its opponents in order to rule the country by despotism. He didn`t have many friends. The U.S. Declaration of Independence accused the British government of «a long series of abuses and usurpers, all of whom pursued the same goal and showed a plan to reduce [the people] to absolute despotism.» Because of its reflexive connotation throughout history, the word despot cannot be defined objectively.

Although despot is closely related to other Greek words such as basileus and autocrator, these connotations have also been used to describe a variety of rulers and governments throughout history, such as local chieftains, simple rulers, kings, and emperors.