Knei-Paz, B. The Social and Political Thought of Leon Trotsky.
Oxford, Eng.: Clarendon Press, 1978.
tyranny/tyrant/tyrannical
A government ruled by an individual with absolute
POWER. A tyrannical ruler is often termed a DESPOTor a
DICTATOR.These are negative terms, signifying not just
the STATErun by one person (as in MONARCHYor king-
dom), but also a cruel, evil governor.
CLASSICALpolitical thought describes tyranny as the
worst form of government. PLATOwarns that it can
arise out of the disorder and ANARCHY of extreme
DEMOCRACY and INDIVIDUALISM. The tyrant imposes
order (like Adolf HITLERdid) through brutal AUTHORI-
TARIANterror. ARISTOTLEdescribes the characteristics of
a tyranny at some length in his book, The Politics.The
tyrant keeps power by hurting his or her own country:
killing intelligent people (who are seen as rivals),
encouraging social conflict between races and classes
(to “divide and conquer”), spying on citizens and
arresting anyone critical of the government, discourag-
ing learning and prosperity, and often starting wars
with neighboring countries. So a tyrant serves selfish
passions rather than the INTERESTSof the people or the
common good. The tyrant’s state is a “corrupt” form of
monarchy, according to Aristotle.
MODERN, LIBERAL political theory (John LOCKE)
emphasizes the popular resistance to tyrants, the lack
of CONSENTin tyrannical government, and a right to
revolution against them. The American DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE (by Thomas JEFFERSON) accuses
British King George III of being a tyrant for violating
the colonists’ RIGHTS to life, LIBERTY, PROPERTY, and
due process of law. Later liberation movements
adopted this use of the term tyrant, and this has
caused the casual employment of the term to be
applied to any leader who uses power in a manner
unpopular with some individual or group. Conse-
quently, the meaning and significance of the concept
of tyrannyhas been somewhat diminished in contem-
porary political language.298 tyranny/tyrant/tyrannical