Difference between revisions of "Enlightened despotism"
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An '''enlightened despot''' was a [[monarch]] during the [[Enlightenment]] who ruled with some concern for the welfare of his people. In other words, this type of [[king]] allowed some reforms for the good of the people but still maintained absolute power. [[Voltaire]], a prominent French philosophe and Enlightenment thinker, was a proponent of such a government. Monarchs that are considered enlightened despots usually ruled over Eastern European countries, such as [[Emperor]] [[Joseph II]] of [[Austria]] or [[Catherine the Great]] of [[Russia]]. | An '''enlightened despot''' was a [[monarch]] during the [[Enlightenment]] who ruled with some concern for the welfare of his people. In other words, this type of [[king]] allowed some reforms for the good of the people but still maintained absolute power. [[Voltaire]], a prominent French philosophe and Enlightenment thinker, was a proponent of such a government. Monarchs that are considered enlightened despots usually ruled over Eastern European countries, such as [[Emperor]] [[Joseph II]] of [[Austria]] or [[Catherine the Great]] of [[Russia]]. | ||
| − | + | The term has also been applied to many modern dictators, often of a [[Communist]] viewpoint. [[Joseph Stalin]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lWcVDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA181 Popular Opinion in Totalitarian Regimes: Fascism, Nazism, Communism]</ref> [[Fidel Castro]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=o4G8SlNUROoC&pg=PA14 The Political Economy of Dictatorship]</ref> [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=l40eAQAAMAAJ&dq=Enlightened+despotism Contesting Democracy: Political Ideas in Twentieth-Century Europe]</ref> [[Napoleon Bonaparte]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=rqe1UU6OiIUC&pg=PA4 France Under Napoleon]</ref> [[Mussolini]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=EX3JAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA168 Mussolini]</ref> and [[Josip Broz Tito]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Vq5KSDHvt1QC&q=Enlightened+despotism+broz+tito&dq=Enlightened+despotism+broz+tito&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjqp42Rgc7VAhURayYKHahGB58Q6AEILDAB Josip Broz Tito]</ref> | |
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 01:23, August 11, 2017
An enlightened despot was a monarch during the Enlightenment who ruled with some concern for the welfare of his people. In other words, this type of king allowed some reforms for the good of the people but still maintained absolute power. Voltaire, a prominent French philosophe and Enlightenment thinker, was a proponent of such a government. Monarchs that are considered enlightened despots usually ruled over Eastern European countries, such as Emperor Joseph II of Austria or Catherine the Great of Russia.
The term has also been applied to many modern dictators, often of a Communist viewpoint. Joseph Stalin,[1] Fidel Castro,[2] Mustafa Kemal Atatürk,[3] Napoleon Bonaparte,[4] Mussolini,[5] and Josip Broz Tito.[6]