their principles corrupted at their very setting out, and as they generally go a goodmany together, they inflame one another’s expectations to such a degree, in thecourse of the voyage, that they fix upon a period for their return before their arriva
A good point. There is a culture of greed, but that does not exonerate him. He, as the most powerful there, is chiefly responsible.
he must be seduced at last, or fly. Now theBanyan is the fair lady to the Company’s servant. He lays his bags of silver beforehim today; Gold tomorrow; Jewels the next day, and, if these fail, he then temptshim in the way of his profession, which is Trade.
What a funny analogy
hese policies included its insistence thatIndians plant commercial crops such as indigo, jute, and opium poppies inplace of rice and other food crops; its monopoly on trade; its seizure of landfrom hereditary landowners; and its extraction from the Indians of high taxes
Its quite telling that despite this appearance to care about what the BEIC was doing, the British government was happy to reap the fruits of their labor and take over India in 1857
the Commander-in-Chief of BritishIndia from 1756-1760, and Governor and Commander-in-Chief from 1764-1767
That's a very high and powerful position
Behold that vile English nation!
Strong start
Let us all rise, arm, unite, andgo against them. We do here bind ourselves to vengeance, and express these oursincere intentions in order to exhibit our high principles and patriotism. The godsfrom on high now look down on us; let us not lose our just and firm resolution.China from 1796-1820.4 Chusan (today Zhoushan) was a port city in eastern China. In 1793, Macartney’sdelegation asked for and was denied permission to trade there. The British also asked to begiven a small island near Chusan to establish warehouses and residences. This request alsowas denied.
Here we see the sentiment which led to the second war. Its honestly not at all surprising that they would fight again considering what the British were doing.
They aredogs, whose desires can never be satisfied
I like this paper. Its like the other side to Lin Zixu's formally addressed piece. Its always fun to see people outright talking crazy in old language.
delegation asked for and was denied permission to trade there. The British also asked to begiven a small island near Chusan to establish warehouses and residences.
Just big and greedy. Fr though the British had such a crazy entitled mindset. Is this what colonialism does to a nation?
steadily devoured all the western barbarians
I'm not exactly sure what this is referring to. Possibly the many wars between the British and other powers
China was forced to pay Britain a $21million indemnity, representing the value of the destroyed opium andBritain’s costs of winning the war. The island of Hong Kong was ceded to theBritish, and a total of five port cities were forced to open their doors to Britishtrade. Canton, which had long been the sole center of China’s import-exporttrade with Europe, was now designated one of these “treaty ports.”
Such crazy punishments for a war that was fought over literally dumping heroin. I get why the Chinese regard this as the beginning of the century of humiliation.
Be sure not to put this off. Theabove is what has to be communicated
This is a very straightforward but very accurate and effective letter. He makes all the best arguments, pointing out that the English are either openly selling drugs out of their enormous greed, or are either too unwilling or inefficient to control what their own traders are doing. Its funny how clearly it is just a kindly worded diss. He's pretty much saying that the English can either stop being evil or otherwise China will not give them awesome stuff.
certainly you will not letyour subjects dare again to violate the law
Basically telling them to get a grip and manage their own people
Naturally you wouldnot wish to give unto others what you yourself do not want
Hit em with the golden rule
This is the source fromwhich your country has become known for its wealth
Wow, basically saying the Chinese gave the British their bag. Its so funny how in documents like these people are just throwing shade and talking smack.
have always been noted for their politeness andsubmissivenes
Cap.
his is because he takes the mind of heaven andearth as his mind.
The mandate of heaven
Lin Zixü
I suppose this is the Lin that La Motte mentioned as having something of a Boston Tea Party.
enowned for his competencein administering fiscal matters and public works, and his skill at governance.
Likely also a philosopher / political philosopher. China had a very unique focus on the learning and philosophy of governance. I should consult my reading from PS10, but as I recall there was a rich history of political philosophy and development. Confucius himself was a statesman. Even the Dao which advocates for a solitary life gives governing advice. That is all to say that the Chinese had a rich history of political philosophy as well as great respect for good statesmen. There was a very different, service oriented, attitude which contrasts with the European binary of government by tyrant or republic.
That is to say, that there is in him, like the rest of us, both good and bad, andthat the innate good is capable of being developed by culture.7 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow from “The Song of Hiawatha,” an 1855 epic poem basedon Native American oral traditions. The poem is set in Michigan and concerns the fictionalNative American character Hiawatha, an Ojibwe warrior, and his tragic love forMinnehaha, a Dakota woman.
Wow, what an absolute genius. Its so funny to me how dudes like this thought that they were hitting a mic-drop moment. This reading is sort of what I expected from a planner of colonial policy. You can really see the blueprints of colonialism here, both in terms of literal strategy as well as ideology.
He is neither theintelligent ideal crying out for instruction, and capable of appreciating the subtlebeauties of Christian forbearance and self-sacrifice, which some well-meaningmissionary literature would lead us to suppose; nor yet, on the other hand, is heuniversally a rampant cannibal, predestined by Providence to the yoke of the slave,and fitted for nothing better,
The unwillingness to accept Africans as being capable of becoming equals, or at the very least close, is so telling of the European need to feel superior. Honestly it seems like their egos just would not let them accept the fact that if you took one of these people and raised them in a European context they would be mentally indistinguishable. Thus even though he says they're better than savages and slaves, he relegates them to some middle position because they can never be like the Europeans.
“turn the other cheek also to the smiter,” and to be “theservant of all men,” is to wholly misunderstand and misapply the teaching ofChrist.
Bro is just evil. He's just like, nah Jesus wasn't talking about Black people when he said this.
repel an insolentfamiliarity, which is a thing entirely apart from friendship born of respect andaffection.
That's pretty messed up. Its so odd to see the way that they explain away their ability to be friends with Africans. "Its not friendship its an insolent familiarity" like cope harder buddy.
for no one is more quick to recognise a real gentlemanthan the African savage
?
In my view, moreover, instruction (religious or secular) is largely wasted uponadults, who are wedded to custom and prejudice. It is the rising generation whoshould be educated to a higher plane, by the establishment of schools for children
As wicked as he might be this dude was clever and quite crafty.
greatercomforts in his social life.
You can totally get the image of this guy. Some stuffy British dude whose first example of of civility is eating with a fork and knife
him to purchase from the trader thecloth [to wear as clothing] which shall add to his decency
hahaha
But even the less advanced andmore primitive tribes may be equally benefited,
Hints of biological determinism
Aleading architect of colonial administrative policy, Lugard developed thesystem of Indirect Rule, whereby British colonial officials ruled through (andso hid behind) indigenous political leaders who were responsible for collectingtaxes from their people, supplying laborers when instructed, and maintaininglaw and order in their territories.
So basically the architect of wickedness and weakness.
As a result of this battle Menelik gained enormous local and international prestige. OnOctober 26, the Italians agreed to the Peace Treaty of Addis Ababa, whereby they acceptedthe annulment of the Treaty of Ucciali and recognized the absolute and completeindependence of Ethiopia. Menelik, on the other hand, did not consider himself in positionto insist on an Italian withdrawal from Eritrea though he had often expressed a desire ofobtaining access to the sea. In the months which followed, the French and Britishgovernments sent diplomatic missions to sign treaties of friendship with Menelik; othermissions came from the Sudanese Mahdists, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire; and theTsar of Russia. Addis Ababa thus emerged as a regular diplomatic center where severalimportant foreign powers had legations [ministers and their staff].
Menelik finally got the aura he deserved. Seriously though it is a pretty straightforward story which really only tells us about the great leadership of Menelik. I wonder if no other African state was in a position as advantageous and Ethiopia at this point. What really made them succeed was Menelik's decision to acquire as many rifles as he could - did no one else have this idea? What I imagine is more likely is that most African states were highly fractionalized and those in no position to engage in such strategic moves.
r nearly 43 percent of the original fightingforce of 10,596 Italian and about 7,100 [African] troops. The Italians also abandoned alltheir cannon, as well as about 11,000 out of the 14,519 rifles with which they started thebattle
Extreme L
The Ethiopian army moreover was much larger than that of the Italians. Not countingsoldiers with spears, he had well over 100,000 men with modern rifles. The Italians fortheir part had somewhat more cannon—56 as against Menelik’s 40—but only about17,000 men, of whom 10,596 were Italian and the rest Eritrean levies [draftees orconscripts
Damn they were severely outnumbered. Is this just European hubris? How could they have expected to possibly defeat him with such a weak army?
After a delay of over two years, which he turned to good advantage by importing verylarge quantities of fire-arms especially from France and Russia, Menelik at lengthdenounced the Treaty of Ucciali on February 12, 1893; a week or so later, on February 27,he informed the European Powers of his decision, declaring: “Ethiopia has need of no one;she stretches out-her hands unto God.
Menelik was pretty goated. Pretty fire way to declare war
I said that because of our friendship, our affairs in Europe might be carriedon with the aid of the sovereign of Italy, but I have not made any treaty which obliges meto do so. I am not the man to employ the aid of another to carry on my affairs your Majestyunderstands very well.
He flamed him basically
The Italian text, however, made it obligatory for theEmperor to conduct all his transactions with the other powers through the Italiangovernment. Though the Italian formula was soon used by the Italian government to claimthat it had established a protectorate over Ethiopia, the time was not yet ripe for an openconflict.
Very interesting. I wonder if this apparent miscommunication was intentional.
To avoid disputes among themselves the European Powers had devised the GeneralAct of Berlin which was signed on February 26 that yea
This is so goofy. The Europeans finally sort of realized they should stop fighting constantly but then then in like 20 years they immediately start fighting one of the most horrific wars ever.
Further sales and gifts followed with the result that Menelik soonhad by far the best equipped army of any independent African state
This is important context. Menelik understood that he needed to match the power of other states.
Menelik to bring this work to fruition, as well as to withstand the pressureof the European powers in the scramble for Africa, and to lay the foundations of a modernstate.
That is a tough list of tasks.
The powers of the monarchs had been usurpedby the feudal lords and centralized government had been replaced by the autonomy of thevarious provinces whose rulers warred among themselves
A warring states period you might say.
looted in 1868 from Ethiopia by British troops and housed today in the BritishMuseum and the British Library.
Classic
What good man would prefer a country covered with forests and ranged by a fewthousand savages to our extensive Republic, studded with cities, towns, andprosperous farms embellished with all the improvements which art can devise orindustry execute, occupied by more than 12,000,000 happy people, and filled withall the blessings of liberty, civilization and religion?
Honestly this is a very interesting argument. We can all sit here hundreds of years later and say that this was all wrong but then the world we know would not exist. This brings up so many unanswerable questions about morality, history, and philosophy. What is even the point of discussing such things? The only reason I see for judging the morality of historical actions is so that we can make better decisions in the present. So yes, the vast majority of Americans benefit from this genocide, but that does not make criticism of it irrelevant. What it does mean is that we should take no satisfaction or moral victory from criticizing history. As for Jackson's point in his own time, it isn't really asking this question. The point is actually to argue that this genocide has been and will continue to be worth it. Jackson is saying that if he was sent back 150 years he would do the same thing as the forefathers. It is worth noting that this argument reframes the conflict, shifting attention from the possibility of better treatment in the future to justifying past sins. It thus implicitly argues that destroying the natives is fine.
How many thousands of ourown people would gladly embrace the opportunity of removing to the West onsuch conditions! If the offers made to the Indians were extended to them, theywould be hailed with gratitude and joy.
Jackson is actually kind of a beast of rhetoric. There are very obvious flaws in his arguments but it is apparent that they would work and are really meant more to energize people who agree then to change minds. Kinda reminds me of somebody.
none more zealouslythan those who think the Indians [are] oppressed by subjection to the laws
If you like natives so much why don't you help us kick them off the land. Honestly though this kind of rhetoric would work. Sympathy for oppressed racial groups was very complicated back then and very different from how we see it now. I expect that a lot of people genuinely thought this would be best for the natives, just as they thought that it would be best for black people to be sent back to Africa or to create their own settlements on the frontier (Jefferson).
Our children by thousands yearly leave the land of their birth to seek newhomes in distant regions. Does Humanity weep at these painful separations fromeverything, animate and inanimate, with which the young heart has becomeentwined?
The difference is choice.
to send them to land where their existence may be prolonged and perhaps madeperpetual.
Canada? Heaven?
no one can indulge a more friendlyfeeling than myself,
This is very silly. Actually very Trumpian. "No one likes these guys more than me - nobody"
we have as little right to control them as we have to prescribelaws to foreign nations
What is even the point of pretending? Does it help their cognitive dissonance?
free them from the power of the States, enable them to pursue happiness intheir own way and under their own rude institutions; will retard the progress ofdecay, which is lessening their numbers, and perhaps cause them gradually, underthe protection of the Government and through the influence of good counsels, tocast off their savage habits and become an interesting, civilized, and Christiancommunity
Here we get the supposed positives. It will allow them to pursue happiness in their own way except they don't get to decide where they live or what we do with them. Also as we read in the intro, many of these natives had assimilated. We constantly see excuses like this, but I wonder to what extent those espousing such things actually believed them.
to advance rapidly in population, wealth, andpowe
The assumption that the simple presence of natives is holding these states back is kinda funny.
to the settlement of the whitesit will incalculably strengthen the southwestern frontier and render the adjacentStates strong enough to repel future invasions without remote aid
He thinks of this in such a military way. The natives are presupposed to be enemies and thus the goal is never to figure out how to manage them in a political, societal sense but literally how to defend white society from them.
benevolent policy
mhmm
The wealthiest established plantations and even purchasedenslaved African Americans to work them.
Similar to Haiti. To succeed means to own slaves so even the oppressed will do it.
He againsaw action against Native Americans in Georgia and Florida in 1817, duringthe First Seminole War
Jackson is sort of the biggest hater of natives among presidents. I remember learning in high school about what occurred during his presidency. The context of him fighting them repeatedly gives a different coloring to his actions which betrays the fact that it was not entirely based on seizing land.
patriarchal family structures, and African slavery in an attempt topeacefully coexist with the whites
The attempt to replicate the actions of the powerful. Just like Haiti.
Agreeing not to fight each other
Greed is so powerful it made the French, English, and Spanish get along
homesteading,” “settling,” and“westward expansion,” in reality it was one of imperial conquest andconsolidation
This is a very particular kind of conquest, as the goal is to make it land for use by average people. It is also the only contemporary example I can think of where the imperialist and the conquered are in adjacent territories.
Indeed, an anti-imperialist movement within the US was very active inthe late 19th century;
I didn't know this.
On the heels of thisrebellion, the British government decided to take direct control of India in 1858,making Queen Victoria Empress of India. This, however, did not improveconditions for the Indian people.
This is more traditional colonialism
Forty years later, however, power hadshifted to Britain, whose possession of Industrial Revolution technology andweaponry enabled the British to easily defeat the Chinese in the first of two“Opium Wars,” and impose their will on that country, forcing the Chinese tocontinue to allow the importation of opium—grown in Britain’s colony ofIndia—into China.
This is very interesting because it isn't settler colonialism but rather the imposition of a one sided trading relationship through military force.
What divisions in Cherokee society are alluded to in the first petition?
Some Cherokees did in fact sell their land and move, which essentially weakened everyone else.
Our beloved Children and head men of the Cherokee Nation, we address youwarriors in council. We have raised all of you on the land which we now have,which God gave us to inhabit and raise provisions
I like how they establish their ethos here. They sort of speak for all mothers here, calling on the authority of those who raised the warriors that are now in charge. Its clear that there is still a remnant of the former respect for women.
Although it is not commonfor our sex to take part in public measures, we nevertheless feel justified inexpressing our sentiments on any subject where our interest is as much at stake asany other part of the community
They are now at the point where they have to justify their inclusion on the matter.
be brought to a savage state again, for we have,by the endeavor of our Father the President, become too much enlightened to throwaside the privileges of a civilized life
They seem to believe the rhetoric about them. Perhaps they actually were flourishing as farmers idk.
he land was given to us by the Great Spirit above as our commonright, to raise our children upon, & to make support for our rising generations. Wetherefore humbly petition our beloved children, the head men & warriors, to holdout to the last in support of our common rights, as the Cherokee nation have beenthe first settlers of this land; we therefore claim the right of the soi
This is a very cool debate to see. The mass scale, strictly defined individualism and liberalism vs. a smaller, more intimate and natural form of economy and governance based on solidarity and common belief.
Cultivate and raise corn & cotton and your mothers andsisters will make clothing for you which our father the president has recommendedto us all
True. Monroe did push for assimilation. Its very interesting that that call him "our father the president".
for it was the good will of our creator to place us here,and you know our father, the great president,3 will not allow his white children totake our country away
This is very interesting. I wonder why they believed in Monroe like this.
In 1835, a smallunauthorized faction of Cherokee men ignored the above resolutions andsigned the Treaty of New Echota, ceding the Cherokee lands in the southeastfor new territory in what today is the state of Oklahoma.
I never knew that this is what caused this event.
In 1830, the United States Congress passed the Indian Removal Act,
Jackson
men who engaged in commercial farming orpurchased enslaved Africans to do that work for them constituted the kernelof an emerging elite clas
Its so interesting how this happens. I guess ultimately no matter how successful you were as a non-white person, the shape of society was dictated by white people, and this is what success meant.
God-speed on her mission of “testifyin’ agin concerning the wickedness of this’ere people.”
This version is very different. I suppose the changes to the speech are for clarity as it is more or less the same. I wonder if her descriptions of the crowd are accurate though. Did Sojourner Truth really bring the house down?
But to go to nations with whom there is no war, who have no way provoked,without farther design of conquest, purely to catch inoffensive people like wildbeasts for slaves, is an height of outrage against Humanity and Justice, that seemsleft by Heathen nations to be practised by pretended Christians
Paine was kind of a beast. I like how he writes with such passion.
debauched them withliquors,
Its pretty sad how common this was with European colonization. Bringing liquor just degraded many cultures.
willfully sacrificeConscience, and the character of integrity to that golden Ido
money.
and commonly some of usused to get up a tree to look out for any assailant, or kidnapper, that might comeupon us; for they sometimes took those opportunities of our parents’ absence, toattack and carry off as many as they could seize
Growing up having to expect kidnappers constantly is crazy
having slightlyreprimanded me, ordered me to be taken care of, and not to be ill-treated
This punishment is so slight in comparison to those that come later.
even to the wretchedness of slavery.
This was a very powerful and engaging narrative. There isn't really much to say about it - it is simply a recounting of the horrors of the translatlantic slave trade. I think we all know that this stuff was horrible but reading a firsthand account makes it very real.
while it has no advantage to atone for it,
True. It is just cruelty for its own sake.
O, ye nominalChristians! Might not an African ask you: learned you this from your God?
For real. Nominal Christians is such a good way to describe it. There is no genuine belief amongst these people.
This produced copious perspirations, so thatthe air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, andbrought on a sickness amongst the slaves, of which many died, thus fallingvictims to the improvident avarice [extravagant greed], as I may call it, of theirpurchasers
Isn't this so common from the greedy and wicked? Causing extensive harm to others but also to their own enterprise out of sheer greed and ignorance.
he white people looked and acted, as Ithought, in so savage a manner, for I had never seen among any people suchinstances of brutal cruelty; and this not only shown towards us blacks, but also tosome of the whites themselves. One white man in particular I saw, when we werepermitted to be on deck, [was whipped] so unmercifully with a large rope near theforemast, that he died in consequence of it; and they tossed him over the side asthey would have done a brute.
Isn't it ironic? But seriously imagine the absolute cruelty and barbarity of British sailors. The narrative of savagery or even demonic nature could much more easily be applied to white people. What made them not savages was their supposedly superior society and technology, not their behavior.
, lest we should leap into the water: and I haveseen some of these poor African prisoners most severely cut for attempting to doso, and hourly whipped for not eating.
The conditions of the slave ships were so unbelievable. I think that this is likely why banning the trade was often the first step taken in abolishing slavery.
As relations between the Powhatan and the English declined, Wahunsenacastopped allowing Pocahontas to go to the Jamestown fort. He no longer thoughtshe was safe among the English colonists.6 Pocahontas was growing up, she wasabout twelve years old. Soon she would be coming of age.
Very interesting reading. I don't really know the story as it has been told by Smith and Disney so I can't compare it well, but I know the broad strokes. Its crazy to make such a goofy and childlike story out of a real, complex, and gruesome history.
It is not until Smith’s“Generall Historie of Virginia,” published in 1624, that Pocahontas was creditedwith saving his life
So basically he just rewrote the story to make it cooler and make him seem like a badass
No one tried to prevent Smith and his men from leaving in the morning.Instead, the Powhatan carried loads of corn to their ship for them. As before, whenSmith was made a werowance by Wahunsenaca a year prior to this encounter,Smith’s own writings do not correspond to his own fears and claims of being savedby Pocahontas.
Smith was legit just a tweaker and a freak
Why do you take by force [that which] you may quickly have by love?
On god! This is a great quote in general
You callyourself a Christian, yet you leave us with no food for the winter!
Once again we have the hypocrisy of European christianity
When young people of thePowhatan nation reached puberty, they stopped cartwheeling.
This sentence is so funny
the English were lazy
I love that he throws shade on the English the whole time for being lazy, stupid, and deceptive.
Wahunsenaca wasletting the whole English settlement come in to be a part of Powhatan society. Hewas giving them a place to stay east of Werowocomoco on the eastern shore,possibly at the mouth of the Pamunkey (York) River. Wahunsenaca thought thatwith the English ships and ammunition in that area, the Spanish would not comeinto their territory. ... He viewed the English at that time as having come in peace.They were welcome to stay as long as they wished. “Stay here, make your homehere
This really echoes the sentiments Red Jacket references. The natives met the colonists with friendliness and aid.
The Spanish threat influenced Wahunsenaca to both build alliances with theregional tribes, enlarging the Powhatan nation, and to make friends with theEnglish when they arrived in 1607. ... [W]hen the English arrived with weaponryequivalent to the Spanish, which the Powhatan did not have, Wahunsenaca desiredto have them as an allied tribe within the Powhatan nation
The Spanish were literally so evil that he was willing to break bread with stinky Englishmen
When he was in close proximity to the chief of the village, he would puthis pistol to the chief’s head, demanding a ransom of food in exchange for thechief’s release.
What a tweaker. I keep having this same question: was this really the most optimal strategy? Since we know that the Powhatan wanted to include them then certainly not.
make them allies and part of the Powhatan nation.
Different way of seeing things, a different political imagination. The natives had a flexible imagination which could include the colonists. For the colonists, the natives could never be equal members of society with them.
Wahunsenaca was his personal name
Its funny how even something that simple gets misconstrued for 400 years
why do you white people differ so much about it? Whynot all agree, as you can all read the book?
If Christians can't even agree on their interpretation of the bible what makes the indigenous religion so wrong? I like how he equates God with the Great Spirit - he believes that they likely worship the same God but that they do it differently
“obviously ... spectacularbiogeographical phenomenon going on right under their noses,” they “did notunderstand it,” Crosby says, and certainly did not take the trouble to write aboutit
This is very interesting and indicative of the mindset. What does it matter if everything here is destroyed? It ought to look the way we want it.
A moderate Roman Catholic and advocate of religious andcultural toleration,
Interesting. He is a progressive of the time
All this does not sound very ill, and thelast was not at all amiss, for they wear no breeches.8 Charles IX was ten years old in 1560 when he ascended to the throne of France. Heruled from 1560-1574.
This was a very interesting reading. We often criticize the noble savage narrative today, and rightly so, but it is important to put this work and perspective. In comparison to many of the readings we have had so far this is a surprisingly tolerant piece. Furthermore, in comparison to Diderot's "Who are you then to make slaves?" this is much less ideological and angsty - Diderot legit wrote noble savage fan fiction. Although Montaigne is mistaken about many things and underestimates the complexity of their culture, he seems mostly to be curious of these people and is trying argue that we ought to give them and their way of life some credit and to reconsider ours. He in some places makes the very astute observation of noticing cultural centrism. Still, his points seems to be that European society is frivolous and violent, so we ought not judge to harshly.
to march at the head of them to war
Swag
manner of commodities, whilst, in the meantime, their halves were begging at theirdoors, lean and half-starved with hunger and poverty; and they thought it strangethat these necessitous halves were able to suffer so great an inequality andinjustice, and that they did not take the others by the throats, or set fire to theirhouses.
Foreshadowing. I wonder if these people actually did visit Europe and actually did say this or if it is Montaigne trying to slip in more messaging.
which it may be added, that their language is soft, of a pleasing accent, andsomething bordering upon the Greek termination
The Europeans post-Renaissance were always judging stuff by the Greeks and Romans. Its kind of funny to notice the collective forgetting they have. In the Roman era they were almost all in tribal societies.
but moreover carefully brought up thechildren he had by her, and assisted them in the succession to their father’s crown.
Of course this dude is saying that they are better because they have multiple wives
that they only covet so much as their natural necessitiesrequire: all beyond that is superfluous to them
Classic greedy Europeans
We may then call these people barbarous, inrespect to the rules of reason: but not in respect to ourselves, who in all sorts ofbarbarity exceed them.
Very true
seeing so clearlyinto their faults, we should be so blind to our own. I conceive there is morebarbarity in eating a man alive, than when he is dead; in tearing a body limb fromlimb by racks and torments, that is yet in perfect sense; in roasting it by degrees;in causing it to be bitten and worried by dogs and swine (as we have not only read,but lately seen, not amongst inveterate and mortal enemies, but among neighboursand fellow-citizens, and, which is worse, under colour of piety and religion), thanto roast and eat him after he is dead
This is pretty fair. Europeans committed absolutely horrific acts of violence, whether it be on enemies, conquered peoples, or ordinary prisoners being executed. Is it really worse to quickly kill a man then cook him than to have him pulled apart by horses?
hey thought those people of the other world (as being men who had sown theknowledge of a great many vices amongst their neighbours, and who were muchgreater masters in all sorts of mischief than they) did not exercise this sort ofrevenge without a meaning, and that it must needs be more painful than theirs, theybegan to leave their old way, and to follow this
This part is pretty funny. He's saying that the Portuguese were so mischievous, evil, and brutal that their methods of execution made the natives think that theirs was too weak, and that the Portuguese used this method to exact meaningful revenge.
but as a representation of anextreme revenge
how does he know? Also I like that he's arguing that their cannibalism is okay because they eat their enemies for revenge and not because they like to eat people for nourishment.
but all their ethics are comprised in these two articles, resolution inwar, and affection to their wives
I'm sure that the sailors and traders who could not speak the language were able to get a great grasp on their beliefs and cultural norms
laxative to strangers
fire
no agriculture, no metal, no use of corn or wine;
??????
wherein there is no manner of traffic [trade], no knowledge ofletters, no science of numbers, no name of magistrate or political superiority; nouse of service, riches or poverty, no contracts,
I think the footnote speaks for itself. What is funny to me is that one could certainly have used these new cultures as a way to get perspective on European culture without discrediting them and pretending that they are so simple.
countries abound without art or culture
Just not true.
As, indeed,we have no other level of truth and reason than the example and idea of theopinions and customs of the place wherein we live:
This is literally what you are taught in cultural anthropology. A fish does not know it is in water.
excepting, that every one gives thetitle of barbarism to everything that is not in use in his own country
An early hint towards cultural relativism. Why was it so rare to have perspective?
This man that I had was a plain ignorant fellow, and therefore the more likely totell truth: for your better-bred sort of men are much more curious in theirobservation, ‘tis true, and discover a great deal more; but then they gloss upon it[polish it], and to give the greater weight to what they deliver, and allure yourbelief, they cannot forbear a little to alter the story; they never represent things toyou simply as they are, but rather as they appeared to them, or as they would havethem appear to you,
This is really a criticism of upper class European society.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau later called “the noble savage,”
Its interesting to consider what an effect this concept must have had on the political philosophy at the time. Rousseau's philosophy described how man is entirely free in a state of nature and that he gives up some freedoms to enter into society. Many social contract theorists refer heavily to the man in "the state of nature" but somehow I never made the connection that they were being influenced by the discovery of cultures in the new world.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divineProvidence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
In summary, I can't help but think that the king fumbled the bag. The American revolution is strangely something that I don't think about too often. I think that its omnipresence in American history and in the education of my younger years has made it something that I just take for granted, but now as I rethink about it I can't help but wonder what in the world was the king thinking. The revolution was by no means the glorious struggle for freedom that Americans make it out to be but from a historical and political analysis perspective it is very reasonable and expected that the colonists revolted. The king repeatedly alienated and abused them and responded to their complaints with more abuse. I simply can't imagine that the crown really believed that this would turn out well.
e must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces ourSeparation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
If the British people were unwilling to try to reign in their government then there was nothing to be done except go to war.
Ourrepeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.
The kings repeated response of aggravation made conflict unaviodable.
, it is their right, it is their duty,to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
An appeal to the social contract
He has constrained our fellow Citizens takenCaptive on the high Seas to bear Arms againsttheir Country, to become the executioners of theirfriends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by theirHands.26 With the outbreak of war in 1775, Britain permitted the“impressment” of Americans on captured ships, wherebythey were forced to serve in the British navy against thePatriots.
Definitely a valid grievance, although at this point they were already fighting.
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our mostvaluable Laws, and altering fundamentally theForms of our Governments:21 In 1774 Parliament revoked the 1691 charter for thecolonial government of Massachusetts. That unilateralrevocation infuriated the Patriots as a complete central-ization of power in the hands of Parliament.For suspending our own Legislatures, anddeclaring themselves invested with power tolegislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
Abolishing the entire charter for Massachusetts of course was going to be seen as an act of war and it seems that by 1774 the king knew this and was just pushing them around. The same goes for reminding them of his supreme authority "in all cases whatsoever"
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits ofTrial by Jury:18 New colonial courts created in 1768 provided for trials ofaccused smugglers with no jurythe judge alonedelivering the verdictthus removing a right long valuedby British subjects. [The 1789 Bill of Rights guaranteestrial by jury and other due process rights.]For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried forpretended offences
Valid grievances.
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
The big one. Definitely a valid reason to be mad.
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, frompunishment for any Murders which theyshould commit on the Inhabitants of theseStates
Just very blatantly allowing his military to be tyrannical and oppressive.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices,and sent hither swarms of Officers toharrass our people, and eat out theirsubstance
Again, this and the above show the king trying to clamp down on the colonies and remove their power. Seems like a valid reason to be upset.
He has kept among us, in times of peace,Standing Armies without the Consent ofour legislatures
Seems like a very hostile act and worthy of offence.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population ofthese States; for that purpose obstructing the Lawsfor Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to passothers to encourage their migrations hither, andraising the conditions of new Appropriations ofLands.
This also seems legitimate. It is funny how views of immigration have changed over time and how Americans today have very wild ideas about the history of immigration. Some people believe it was all Anglo settlers while others believe it was a total open melting pot; the history is much more complicated.
He has refused for a long time, after suchdissolutions, to cause others to be elected; wherebythe Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation,have returned to the People at large for theirexercise; the State remaining in the mean timeexposed to all the dangers of invasion from without,and convulsions within
This and the above all seem like very legitimate grievances. The king was systematically trying to disrupt and impair colonial self-government and removing the ability for the colonists to have representation.
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from theconsent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends,it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,
Foundational ideas of liberalism
Those interests, Icontend, authorise the subjection of individual spontaneity to externalcontrol, only in respect to those actions of each, which concern the in-terest of other people.
Individuals should be restricted from hurting others. Some would argue that this is the only limit that the government should be allowed to put on citizens.
The practical principle which guides them to theiropinions on the regulation of human conduct, is the feeling in eachperson’s mind that everybody should be required to act as he, and thosewith whom he sympathises, would like them to act.
Reminds me of Arendt. Humans are unwilling to accept differences and wish to make others conform
there needsprotection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling;against the tendency of society to impose, by other means than civilpenalties, its own ideas and practices as rules of conduct on those whodissent from them;
This idea is echoed by Dubois. There must be protection against the Tyranny of the majority.
The will of the people, moreover, practically means the will of the mostnumerous or the most active part of the people; the majority, or thosewho succeed in making themselves accepted as the majority; the people,consequently may desire to oppress a part of their number; and precau-tions are as much needed against this as against any other abuse ofpower. The limitation, therefore, of the power of government over indi-viduals loses none of its importance when the holders of power are regu-larly accountable to the community, that is, to the strongest party therein
Very true.
The notion, that the people have no need tolimit their power over themselves, might seem axiomatic, when populargovernment was a thing only dreamed about, or read of as having ex-isted at some distant period of the past.
To give the people total power still means trusting people with power. Dispersing power does not protect it from being misused or abused.
appeared tothem much better that the various magistrates of the State should betheir tenants or delegates, revocable at their pleasure. In that way alone,it seemed, could they have complete security that the powers of govern-ment would never be abused to their disadvantage.
Representative government. On an even more basic level than representation, the ability to elect officials allows the people to make sure that the government serves them - or so you would think
Their power was regarded as necessary, but also as highlydangerous; as a weapon which they would attempt to use against theirsubjects, no less than against external enemies.
Rulers were not viewed as serving the people thus they would be expected to abuse their power.
regarded as a breach of duty in the ruler to infringe, and which if he didinfringe, specific resistance, or general rebellion, was held to be justifi-able. A second, and generally a later expedient, was the establishmentof constitutional checks, by which the consent of the community, or of abody of some sort, supposed to represent its interests, was made a nec-essary condition to some of the more important acts of the governingpower.
This creates liberties for the people and ensures the consent of the governed
By liberty, was meant protection against the tyranny of thepolitical rulers. The rulers were conceived (except in some of the popu-lar governments of Greece) as in a necessarily antagonistic position tothe people whom they ruled. They consisted of a governing One, or agoverning tribe or caste, who derived their authority from inheritance orconquest, who, at all events, did not hold it at the pleasure of the gov-erned
Very good way to describe this. Most societies did not view the governing body as existing for the benefit of the governed. In fact, in most cases it was expected that rulers would exercise their power cruelly and oppressively.
the nature and limits of the powerwhich can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual.
This is one of the core issues of liberalism: in what ways can the government or others affect an individual?
Brutal physical revolution can, and usually does, end the tyranny of the few.
True. What ability does the minority have to rectify its situation or to at least push back at the system? Unlike the majority which can always use its size to rearrange and recreate society, the few must be protected by something that they can not back up with power.
At the same time, its greatest accusation against rebels is this same desire to be alike: the suffragette is accused of wanting to be a man, the socialist is accused of envy of the rich, and the black man is accused of wanting to be white. That any one of these should simply want to be himself is to the average worshipper of the majority inconceivable, and yet of all worlds, may the good Lord deliver us from a world where everybody looks like his neighbor and thinks like his neighbor and is like his neighbor.
Very profound. This reminds me of Arendt speaking of the absolute differences of men.
How astounded the future world citizen will be to know that as late as 1918 great and civilized nations were making desperate endeavor to confine the development of ability and individuality to one sex—that is, to one-half of the nation; and he will probably learn that similar effort to confine humanity to one race lasted a hundred years longer.
Statements like this really bring forward the failings we have with modern thought: for some reason we believe that we are the future citizens that he is speaking of. How twisted and discriminatory is our society yet because we have at least expressed that we want equality we think we are there.
Today we are gradually coming to realize that government by temporary coalition of small and diverse groups may easily become the most efficient method of expressing the will of man and of setting the human soul free.
Very interesting idea, I would like to see this in America. Even in countries with coalitions it is often the case that there are a few dominant parties or even one single dominant party.
Instead of the artificial attempts to divide all possible ideas and plans between two great parties, modern legislatures in advanced nations tend to develop smaller and smaller minority groups, while government is carried on by temporary coalitions.
HAHAHAHAHA. I LOVE THE TWO PARTY SYSTEM YIPPPEEEE
Peoples and governments will not in the future assume that because they have the brute power to enforce momentarily dominant ideas, it is best to do so without thoughtful conference with the ideas of smaller groups and individuals.
He is very hopeful here. At this point most ideas are informed through media and politicians rather than originating organically with the people so it almost feels like we've regressed. In terms of representation to minorities we have certainly improved but the entire process of thought creation has diminished.
If the absolute monarchy of majorities is galling and inefficient, is it any more inefficient than the absolute monarchy of individuals or privileged classes have been found to be in the past?
A great critique which highlights a root problem with the very concept of government. Who can you give power to? What group of people with power can not be corrupted, can not misuse their power? A large group where power is dispersed to the many is supposed to be insulated from this yet it is still the case that majorities arise and use their power against others.
Horror in Pink #2
I looked into this artist and this piece because I found it very interesting. The pink man originated as a critique of consumerism but due to the re-election of the former Thai prime minister that urged on the October 6th massacres, Manit repurposed the Pink man to make a statement about the loss of consciousness in the people; he believes that they are taking history too lightly or ignoring it all together. Thus Pink Man, representing the people, joins the crowds and ogles at the violence. He's described as a "soulless man without a conscience to trouble him". His creator marvels at his wickedness: "my he's really getting his rocks off, how he enjoys himself"
dangerous perversion of the real democratic ideal.
Certainly. The ideals behind democracy advocate for the liberty of all, no matter how small or unpopular in a given society.
viz., any minority that cannot become a majority is not worthy of any consideration.
Certainly a major failing of representative government can be that it fails to accurately represent the myriad of people within the country. The system needs to be designed to actually represent all and not just the majority. These ideas have been debated since the inception of American democracy.
Has the minority, even though a small and unpopular and unfashionable minority, no right to respectful consideration?
It is important to consider the nature of a minority from all angles; I think considering the power and social clout of a group is perhaps one of the most important aspects. It is very possible for a group to be small and unpopular yet vey powerful.
the seeming instantaneousness of violence—its ability to quickly deliver a result—foreshortens both strategy and a commitment to democratic transformation over the long term.
Violence delivers us immediate results but it does not prepare the kind of environment which is necessary to make these results fruitful. Furthermore it shortens strategy: by taking this quick path to results one does not have to think and plan carefully.
‘Those who labour withtheir minds govern others, while those who labour with their strength aregoverned by others’
Very similar to Aristotle's slave analogy, although his is meant to represent the structure of institutions as well as the direct relationship of leader and follower
They still didn't support myobjectives, though. It was all too dangerous.
It is very interesting yet understandable how age splits people politically. Older people seem to favor stability and do not look long term. What is interesting is that young people do not necessarily look long term because they will live in that world (though perhaps this is what first causes it), but rather it seems that they are generally concerned with the idea of the future, at least far more than older people. To this end young people will lay down their lives or sacrifice their freedoms.
By the time people realized that they had been fooled, it was toolate to do anything. Ben Ali had built a dense network of domesticspies-and a system of extrajudicial punishments-that kept thecountry in line with fear.
The idea that a country slips into authoritarianism. It often does not just appear and the public allows it to encroach.
Many Tunisians believed that and countless other lies that fol-lowed
The loss of democracy is often willing on the part of the people
Thiswas where all the RCD students lived in relative style, two to aroom and without any elec;tricity cuts, which affected only floorsthree and above.
Typical. The ability to lure people into loyalty is very important to such a regime.
We were instinctively self-censoring froma young age.
This is the end goal of authoritarian governments
Later, I took my criticizing activities to the Web, where I used aproxy-software that broke the censorship on Web sites that criti-cized Ben Ali. I enjoyed venting. But at a certain point I wondered,"Is this how I am going to fight against Ben Ali? Is this how I amgoing to change my country?·" The answer, of course, was "No."
Its interesting how this frustration is relatable even in a much freer society. It can often feel that we are unable to affect the world around us and that to attempt to do so would destroy us.
most of us never dared to imagine another order.
Imagination is so important to the world that we shape. This can be disheartening as it often seems that few people can imagine a world very different from the current one however the world can change unexpectedly and thus imagination can spontaneously make breakthroughs.
From that moment, the questions and doubts I had aboutrevolt-and that many young Tunisians shared-were erased for-ever. The revolution had begun, sweeping from the south to northof the country like a steady, unstoppable wave
Its very interesting how it often takes a moment like this to spark sentiments into coming forth into movements. I think that the barriers which hold humans back from organization, real and perceived, must be studied.
The mindset, however, was self-defeating. Tunisia itself gradually became a big jail
Allowing for such injustice out of fear does not accomplish anything accept allowing one to eek out a living.
Shh! The walls are listening!" My parents taughtme not to talk politics, not to criticize, and not to think.
Totalitarianism aims to kill thinking
between these moments others make the decisions. The potential risk of this arrangement, as has been noted by astute observers since the birth of modern republics, is that citizens might grow distrustful of the people who are actually running government on a daily basis and of the special influences to which they might be subject. It’s worth noting that, among long-established democracies today, there’s a robust correlation whereby countries with larger populations tend to have lower trust in government.
This. Firstly, such a large society means that the members will think of themselves as less responsible or having a smaller impact or whatever form that feeling takes. This makes them worse citizens as they are not constantly exercising their obligation to influence the state. Furthermore, with such a large state the government necessarily can not represent everyone. On top of this, large and advanced societies give reason for their leaders to abuse power. There is much more to be gained from manipulating the power of the United States than of a Greek polis.
of, roughly, only 20,000 individuals.
This is very small, even smaller than the amount of men eligible for civil service in Athens which something like 40,000 out of 250,000 people
The first difference between early democracy and our democracies today is that this earlier form of rule was a small-scale phenomenon
There are so many benefits to this and arguably it is the only way for true democracy. First, it allows for direct representation. Perhaps more importantly, it means that each member of the community is inclined to feel deeply responsible for said community. Furthermore, the scope of such a society does not allow for the kind of pursuits which typically lead to abuses of power, nor could one maintain an unpopular regime in such a community.
In all of these societies there were several defining features that tended to reinforce early democracy: small scale, a need for rulers to depend on the people for knowledge, and finally the ability of members of society to exit to other locales if they were unhappy with a ruler.
We see this in democratic societies but also we see that these features cause political development in non-democratic societies. The ability of Chinese shi to leave and serve a new leader allowed for the pursuit of political knowledge for its own sake to flourish. The Greek polis greatly exemplified all three features and although they were not all democratic they showed a great deal of sophistication and a relationship between ruler and ruled which was less lopsided and aimed to achieve an overall benefit for the society.
But speechis for making clear what is beneficial or harmful, and hence also what isIS just or unjust. For it is peculiar to human beings, in comparison to theother animals, that they alone have perception of what is good or bad,just or unjust, and the rest. And it is community in these that makes ahousehold and a city-state.19
Interesting. He argues that we have the ability to perceive and communicate morals, essentially what facilitates such large and complex communities. I would also argue that speech facilitates the ability create new ideas and organize complex behaviors. Speech allows us to organize and this allows us to turn ideas into reality and shape the world in a way that would otherwise be impossible.
Hence he is the most unrestrained and most savage of ani- 35mals when he lacks virtue, as well as the worst where food and sex areconcerned. But justice is a political matter; for justice is the organizationof a political community, and justice22 decides what is just.
Humans without community and thus without a sense of moral responsibility are evil creatures. Also justice decides what is just is an interesting statement. Using the prior sentence, we can say that justice is the upholding of the community's moral code. Justice is what is necessary to maintain the community.
For as a human being is thebest of the animals when perfected, so when separated from LAW andJUSTICE he is worst of all.
Very interesting and compelling. We have essentially limitless potential. This means potential for both greatness and deep depravity.
It comes to be for the sake of living, but it remains in existence for the sake of living well
The city state arises as a natural occurrence in order to survive, however it can serve to elevate life beyond what was previously possible
The reason all people say that the gods too are ruled by a king isthat they themselves were ruled by kings in the distant past, and somestill are. Human beings model the shapes of the gods on their own, and 25do the same to their way of life as well.
Insightful
But thefirst community constituted out of several households for the sake of 1 Ssatisfying needs other than everyday ones is a village
The household satisfies everyday needs, the village more extraneous needs. I assume that it then follows that the larger community and eventually the state satisfy long term or overarching needs: security, maybe some kind of safety net
That is why the same thing is beneficial for both master and slave.4
The master can not exist without slave and the statesman can not exist without the people. Of course I am wary of the slave analogy but his point stands. A thing such as a state requires multiple dependent parts, some which organize and some which are the purpose of organization. Neither can exist without the other.
appropriate SCIENCE, ruling ISand being ruled in turn, has the position of statesman. But these claimsare not true.
Some argue that being elected or randomly chosen (essentially not being an impervious or unaffected ruler) is the condition necessary to be a statesman. Aristotle says this is not so.
Foras in other cases, a composite has to be analyzed until we reach thingsthat are incomposite, since these are the smallest parts of the whole, so if20 we also examine the parts that make up a city-state, we shall see betterboth how these differ from each other, and whether or not it is possibleto gain some expertise in connection with each of the things we havementioned.3
This is the method of thinking which Socrates advocated. Examine things by taking them to their smallest, indivisible pieces.
The good with the most authority is HAPPINESS, since everything else ispursued in part for its sake, while it is pursued solely for its own sake. Thescience with the most authority, STATESMANSHIP, directs the entire city-statetoward happiness.
This is an interesting and effective way to define the core of political motivations.
In stark contrast to China and India, in the classical period no Greek school ofthought—indeed hardly a single individual—seriously considered opting outof his political community. The state and its politics were more central to theway people lived and thought than they were in any other ancient culture.
Here community is so immediate and important that it becomes a significant part of the individual. Thus to be fulfilled as an individual one must be a good member of the community
It was a relatively relaxed ideo-logical environment.
Greek culture was in all facets relaxed and emphasized what could be learned or created. It was highly conducive to improvement and open to experimentation.
The gods were more like humans than in other cultures; they had humanemotions, foibles, and moral fallibility. They are not particularly benevolent(as they tended to be in the theologies of sacred monarchies
This really reflects the Greek beliefs about power and divinity. Even the gods are not infallible and they do not rule because of some ordained right. Zeus gained his position through violence.
a widespread commitmenton the part of citizens to participate in public affairs
Wouldn't that be nice
Nevertheless, there was far more popular control overdomestic and foreign policy, far more political participation, than anywhereelse in the ancient world, or in the vast majority of modern states.
Literally. Very cool
Pericles noted that it was only at Athens that those who donot take part in public affairs (ta politika) are looked down upon (Thucydides2.40.2). By these means the citizens ‘gained control over the constitution as awhole’. 25
Such a powerful take on citizenship. There is an obligation of the citizen to serve the country through political action.
he powerful should thank him for preventing the populace fromdestroying their wealth. ‘I took my stand like a boundary stone...betweenthem’ (EG 28). Solon was both a moral thinker and a politician: he put hissolutions into practice by combining might and right (West, ed., 141) andpiecemeal political engineering.
Basically Solon is the GOAT. Actually though it is crazy to see how the virtue of one man could lead a state to prosperity and establish ideas that have been foundational to humanity. Certainly the Athenians have to get some credit for wanting a just and equal system and entrusting Solon with their future, but it is so compelling to me to think of such a man, who is devoted entirely to harnessing the potential virtue of his entire community.
Eunomia meant generosity(euergesia: doing good works) as opposed to pleonexia (being grasping)
What a great way to understand the two opposing views of how people interact with their community and state in general. We can grasp for things ourselves or do good works.
What he tried toinstil in his fellow citizens was sophrosune (self-control, discretion, moder-ation); this became a fundamental moral and political value (Greenhalgh 1972:195–6). He spared no pains in pointing out to the Athenians that their poliswas in danger of being destroyed by its rich citizens, who, ‘lured by wealth...know not how to restrain their excess’. Their injustices are reducing the polisto slavery. This is a public evil, affecting everybody ‘even (in) the innermostrecesses of his bed-chamber’
Solon was an absolute beast
hecitizens elected (594) Solon (‘the wise’), an itinerant Athenian merchant,as a special chief officer with full powers to sort out the class war betweenrich and poor. This tactic of calling in a ‘wise lawgiver with unlimited power’(CGR 423) was a major innovation.
Very interesting. This act of giving someone absolute authority to resolve the issues of a democracy is very unique. It certainly is compelling. If you could find a Solon, a wise and trustworthy man, it certainly would be nice to leave everything in his hands. In this way you can escape the gridlock of democracy.
networks of carefully nurtured personal relationships with peers, subordinatesand inferiors’
The relationship to power is personal and mutual.
When a whole family, or one individual among the rest, happento be so outstanding in virtue that they exceed all the others, then it is just thatthis family be royal and sovereign over all, and that this individual be king’(Politics 1288a1.15–35). This no doubt had something to do with the examplesof Philip of Macedon, at whose court his father had served, and of Alexander,whom Aristotle had tutored.
Very interesting. One can see how in such a scenario it would seem better to entrust a single virtuous person or family with power. Due to the distinct nature of Greek states there is less incentive for abuse of power and if you can find a truly exceptional person than why not entrust them with total power rather than a collection of somewhat virtuous people.
The comic drama-tist Aristophanes (c. 448–380) made fun of leaders in Athens’ ‘democratic’polis; he was the only person in the ancient world who regularly and publiclycriticized active politicians without fear of reprisal
This is very cool. The Greeks had something which other civilizations did not: a belief that those in power were human and fallible. Although the Chinese believed rulers can fail or deserve to lose power, it does not come anywhere close to this.
Moderation was a virtue;
Real
The community of the polis, like other forms of state, superseded the clan asthe focus of loyalty and comradeship. Disputes were to be settled, wrongs putright not by feud and violence but by public law and in a spirit of civility whichone finds in such proverbs as ‘forgiveness is better than vengeance’, ‘winbloodless victories’, ‘obey the laws’, ‘do not speak ill of neighbours’.
A genuine sense of community at large
This was patriotism, not nationalism.The polis ‘became the focus of a man’s moral, intellectual, aesthetic [as well as]social and practical life’ (Kitto 1951: 11).
Good way to put it. This is true patriotism in a sense that could not be realized in a different situation. Not just the sense of belonging (knowing and caring for all the people of your state) but the sense that one can have a significant impact on their community is also very compelling. It would surely create the ideal citizen.
In contrast to nearly every other literate ancient society, these were face-to-face communities, small enough for all citizens to meet together in one place,the agora (both market-place and assembly). 10 This was the only time in worldhistory that such relatively intimate communities flourished as sovereignstates.
Super interesting and important. This must have produced such a strong unity and reverence for one's state.
The success of the polis as a type of political society depended crucially onits male members being willing to die for it (despite a slender belief in life afterdeath).
As we learned, a key component of nationalism is the willingness to die for one's nation. One could imagine how a state small enough to have a mostly non-imagined community could produce a particularly powerful sense of national pride and loyalty.
One’s own survival and that of one’sfamily depended on people with whom one had face-to-face contact. Govern-ment by the citizens could be maintained because it was the mass of citizenswho made up the predominant military force, the hoplites (heavy infantry), anextremely effective ‘block of identically equipped troops’.6 There was a con-nection between military and political participation. In fifth-century Athens,some justified dēmokratia7 on the ground that the state’s power rested on thenavy, which was manned by the common people
For the Greeks, the imagined community of one's state was an actual community. It is understandable then how ideas like democracy could spring up - the people are already collectively involved in the welfare of their state and not in a forced or distant way like in larger states such as in China.
They were united by their language, religion, mythology,epic poetry (their nearest equivalent of scripture) and commerce. The Greeksare good example of a people united in their stories
The Greeks had a strong imagined community and national myth. The fact that they were united in identity despite their physical separation and belonging to separate states is a testament to the strength of this national myth.
The concerns of anoble person, said Mengzi, should be his family, his reputation, and theeducation of talented youngsters. Thus Confucians saw improvement ofmorals and culture as an end in itself.
Overall Chinese political philosophy presents a very interesting take on sacred monarchy. Here intellectualism and morality play a role which is noticeably separate from yet informed by religion. Heaven favors those who are wise and committed to their duties and morals. Sacred power is not inseparable from any particular lineage and can be lost by poor leadership. Furthermore, the shi served to insulate political and philosophical intellectualism from power, allowing for such ideas to develop uncorrupted. I think it is very interesting to see how ideas similar to those from Egypt are echoed here.
Thus Confucians saw improvement ofmorals and culture as an end in itself.
I really like this perspective. Service to others and to one's society are a reward in and of themselves.
The development of ethics in China from the sixth to thethird centuries BCE was more state-oriented than analogous developmentselsewhere. There was no mention of rewards in an afterlife.
An entirely service oriented morality with no expectation of reward.
The Confucian view, similarly, was one of enlightened paternalism: it is theduty of government to look after the people, but there was no suggestion thatthe people were to be consulted about how this should be done. On thecontrary, the people are, as a matter of observable fact, moulded by whoeveris in power: ‘if you desire the good, the people will be good. The virtue of thegentleman is the wind; the virtue of the people is the grass’ (CA 12.17, 19).Similarly, ‘if one day [the ruler] can overcome himself and turn to humane-ness, the world will turn to humaneness along with him’ (CA 12.1; 13.12). TheConfucian ideal was a moral ruler and a moral ruling class who would give thepeople moral leadership.
Here we see the idea of paternal leadership
Some Chinese writers seem to have come tantalizingly close to this.According to a sixth-century source, ministers who are members of the royalfamily could depose a ruler who persists in his mistakes; in doing so, they wouldbe carrying out the will of Heaven and of the people.
Very interesting.