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Patriarchal Politics

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A Global History of Patriarchal Politics: A Comparative Approach a Few Tales of Resistance. If human history is to be chronicled as something beyond the records of births, deaths, wars and kings, then we shall discover that history is a sum total of many political, cultural, economic and sociological processes. Now there are certain elements that can be traced throughout human history at any point of time at any place which have had an impact in the lives of people. Patriarchy is one such conspicuous element in history since time immemorial. Another such element is politics. Taking a cue from what Aristotle said that politics is a master science, we may safely declare that politics has been and is present everywhere in our lives. Patriarchy …show more content…

While we may safely concur that patriarchy has been a determinant of history across realms, we must also keep in mind the origins and nature of patriarchy and how it comes in to a de facto existence and firmly entrenches itself in a society or civilization. Patriarchy, like water, takes the shape of its container. That is the exact nature or outer shape or overt attributes of patriarchy have always differed from civilization to civilization depending upon the prevailing circumstances. Hence it is very important to compare a few of the different types of patriarchy and the multifarious varieties of politics it has indulged in the various phases of history. Well, no factor in history, not even patriarchy has ever enjoyed total dominance in any society. Thus one must also keep in mind the concepts of the “others” or those who have resisted. For resistance …show more content…

The Greek “polis” or city was the public life and the “oikos” which also means “hosehold”. Aristotle’s ideas give us a fair picture of how the Greek patriarchy operated. The concept of oikos (private) and polis (public) is very important. Aristotle was a misogynist. He believed in the doctrint of male domination in the polis. The oikos is formed by “natural associations of man” that is the natural relation between man and woman, husband and wife. In this relation, man is the rational self while his wife is the “other”, read irrational. Like the slave the woman is also the property of her master. The relation between the man and the other leads to reproduction. The wife has intelligence but cannot use it while the slave is taken to be irrational. The power relations form in the house hold as the Man is more rational, intelligent than the wife and the slave. And he has power over the child as the child cannot use his intellect properly. The Aristotelian view says that it is rational for the man to rule the polis. This idea of western patriarchy has been carried over from the Greeks to the Romans to the Christian phase. Exceptions have occurred here also. Classical European history is replete with stories of cults here and there where the oikos have spilled into the polis. Like Rhodes Island, Corinthian cults or the myth of the Amazon Warriors. Aristotle was also a believer of Hellenic supremacy in the

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