Oriental Despotism is the quality ascribed by Karl Marx to large cities of the Middle East and Asia, which would not have been truly independent, mainly due to their geographical location.

The premise is that there existed some forms of state, which were ruled by tribute-collecting despots based on the system of production-property relations, described as "Asiatic mode of production". Oriental despotism is, thus, the political superstructure that was developed in succession. It was explained to have prevented states from progressing, or, as Marx said, "Asia fell asleep in history". Dynasties might have changed, but overall the structure of the state remained the same - until an outside force (i.e. Western powers) artificially enforces "progressive" reforms.

Within such socio-economic formations, the most obvious of which being the agrarian-based empires of Ancient Egypt and China, an absolute ruler farmed out the right to collect tribute from peasant villagers to a hierarchy of provincial petty officials, who also had responsibility for organizing the construction and maintenance of extensive irrigation works, upon which agricultural production was dependent. Extorting tribute from village communities became the universal mode of enrichment by the ruling class of military-priestly nobles. The divine kings also wasted resources on useless monument-building.

Oriental despotism as a discourse was criticized as being orientalist, based on poor empirical evidence, and full of generalizations. It has been attacked by historians and social scientists for being erroneous and racist. Marx's excuse for capitalist imperialism as a way to help for example Asia progress from "slave states" and "feudalism" jarringly conflicts with his anti-imperialism.

See also

• Orientalism
• Karl August Wittfogel
• Hydraulic empire
• Hydraulic despotism

Colonialism | History of Asia | Theories of history | Marxist theory

Orientalsk despoti | استبداد شرقی