Oriental despotism is a despotic form of government that runs counter to the western tradition in some way or other. Historically, the term's meaning has varied and today it is hardly ever used at all, largely because of all the issues surrounding the concept of orientalism.
Read more about Oriental Despotism: Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, Marxist Ontology
Famous quotes containing the words oriental and/or despotism:
“Europe has always owed to oriental genius its divine impulses. What these holy bards said, all sane men found agreeable and true.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“We are not to expect to be translated from despotism to liberty, in a feather-bed.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)