Oriental Despotism

…the term in his book Oriental Despotism (1957). He believed that such civilizations—although neither all in the Orient nor characteristic of all Oriental societies—were quite different from those of the West.

In his seminal book Oriental Despotism (1957), historian and political scientist Karl Wittfogel presented a general theory of the development of ancient civilizations. He found examples of large-scale systematic organization of work, the emergence of social classes, and widespread specialization. Wittfogel believed that the development of irrigation projects in…