Day: October 23, 2008

Despotism is a form of government by a single authority, either an individual or tightly knit group, which rules with absolute political power. This 1946 Encylclopedia Britannica newsreel made to educate classrooms about political science explains:

If a community’s economic distribution becomes slanted, its middle income groups grow smaller and despotism stands a better change to gain a foothold. [Source, Despotism (1946), 4:40-4:51]

Another sign of a poorly balanced economy is a taxation system that presses heaviest on those least able to pay. A larger part of a small income is spent on necessities such as food. Sales taxes on such necessities hit the small income harder. In the days of the salt tax, feudal despotisms were partly sustained by this and other ?? [Source, Despotism (1946), 5:58-6:27]