Difference between revisions of "Enlightened despotism"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
(Everything for the people, nothing by the people) |
(Wilson referenced enlightened and benevolent despots in his work ''The Study of Administration''.) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[File:Josephii.jpg|thumb|160px|The motto of Joseph II was "Everything for the people, nothing by the people."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=e_m13Hk3AFEC&pg=PA121 Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends]</ref>]] | [[File:Josephii.jpg|thumb|160px|The motto of Joseph II was "Everything for the people, nothing by the people."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=e_m13Hk3AFEC&pg=PA121 Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends]</ref>]] | ||
| − | 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. Enlightened despotism forms a crucial part of progressivism, having been referenced by [[Woodrow Wilson]] in his ever-important work [[The Study of Administration]]. Wilson wrote that the [[Administrative state]] present in European despotic systems could be imported and Americanized. |
| + | |||
| + | [[Voltaire]], a prominent French philosophe and Enlightenment thinker, was also 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> | 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> | ||
Latest revision as of 21:11, November 22, 2021
The motto of Joseph II was "Everything for the people, nothing by the people."[1]
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. Enlightened despotism forms a crucial part of progressivism, having been referenced by Woodrow Wilson in his ever-important work The Study of Administration. Wilson wrote that the Administrative state present in European despotic systems could be imported and Americanized.
Voltaire, a prominent French philosophe and Enlightenment thinker, was also 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,[2] Fidel Castro,[3] Mustafa Kemal Atatürk,[4] Napoleon Bonaparte,[5] Mussolini,[6] and Josip Broz Tito.[7]