The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude

mises.ch ^ | 1548 | Étienne de La Boétie

[Pining_4_TX]

THE DISCOURSE OF VOLUNTARY SERVITUDE is lucidly and coherently structured around a single axiom, a single percipient insight into the nature not only of tyranny, but implicitly of the State apparatus itself.

Many medieval writers had attacked tyranny, but La Boétie delves especially deeply into its nature, and into the nature of State rule itself. This fundamental insight was that every tyranny must necessarily be grounded upon general popular acceptance. In short, the bulk of the people themselves, for whatever reason, acquiesce in their own subjection. If this were not the case, no tyranny, indeed no governmental rule, could long endure. Hence, a government does not have to be popularly elected to enjoy general public support; for general public support is in the very nature of all governments that endure, including the most oppressive of tyrannies. The tyrant is but one person, and could scarcely command the obedience of another person,much less of an entire country, if most of the subjects did not grant their obedience by their own consent.

[Pining_4_TX]

This is very long, but if you like delving into the philosophy of political organization and why people put up with tyranny, it's quite interesting.

[CheshireTheCat]

Sounds interesting. Thanks. Ping for later.