The French king Louis XV is an emblem of enlightened despotism.
Enlightened despotism is a concept developed within absolute monarchies that included the adaptation to the field of politics of certain philosophical ideas from the most famous thinkers of the Enlightenment. This means that the monarchs who ruled under these ideas continued to maintain the same social system that existed in the Old Regime , but with an addition: they tried to enrich the culture of their people.
It should be noted that despotism is linked to the abuse of power , whether moral or physical, imposing the use of force in dealing with a certain group of people. This notion is usually linked to a type of government that has absolute power and whose actions are not limited by existing laws .
The concept of enlightened , in turn, is related to that belonging to or related to the Enlightenment (the philosophical and cultural movement that emerged in the 18th century that postulated the predominance of reason over emotions and that considered that in the use of intelligence resided the progress of all humanity).
During the Enlightenment, then, there was a type of government that was known as enlightened despotism . Although at first glance this word may denote negative characteristics, this organization was far from being considered as such.
Leaders of enlightened despotism
Enlightened despotism is also often referred to as benevolent despotism or enlightened absolutism . Their leaders adopted a paternalistic attitude and, in their speeches, spoke about the happiness of their subjects.
Louis XV in France , Charles III in Spain , Catherine II in Russia and Joseph II in Austria were some of the enlightened despots who promoted various changes in their monarchies, with the centralization of public administration, the modernization of the economy , the promotion of commerce, agriculture and industry and intervention in church affairs.
The emergence of enlightened despotism is usually explained as the lack of revolutionary will that motivated the majority of enlightened philosophers : despite feeling disgusted with the direction society was taking and criticizing the politics of the time, they did not want to fight for a resounding change. . Possibly, because they were afraid of what could arise as a consequence of the abrupt destruction of the regime, that is why they focused on promoting a peaceful and gradual change that would be guided and directed by the monarchs themselves.
In Russia, enlightened despotism was represented by Catherine II.
Its bases
During the 17th century, absolutism was the most widespread political regime; This system was maintained until the 18th century although the way it was implemented changed. Thus, enlightened despotism arose. If we look for the exact definition of the concept we will find that it was characterized by the use of Enlightenment ideology by absolute laws to maintain their absolutism.
The monarchs who ruled in this movement were called enlightened despots, and it is important to note that they were kings who ruled with absolute power over their people. In fact, most took from the ideas of the Enlightenment those that suited them, that helped them maintain such power.
In this period, a series of reforms were developed that helped the kings end feudalism and achieve greater power. Among the main actions it is worth mentioning:
- Protection of agriculture through the construction of canals and swamps.
- Urbanization and modernization of cities.
- *Construction of monuments and public lighting.
Judicial reforms were also introduced (torture was eliminated as a legal method of investigation), many educational centers and universities were created to achieve better and effective schooling . They did all this moved by the motto of enlightened despotism: “Everything for the people but without the people.”
The end of enlightened despotism
It is important to mention that the rejection of political freedom , which is surely one of the most important and renewing ideas of the Enlightenment, turns all the efforts of these monarchs into people who are totally contradictory and enemies of the same movement that they approved.
In turn, it was this that led to the end of this type of government. Because that enlightened bourgeoisie, which at first had fully supported this movement, became a staunch enemy of absolutism and planned the subsequent revolution ; through which we sought to achieve the most important thing that a society can desire: freedom .