Throughout history, kind and enlightened rulers such as Asoka of the Mauryan Empire have been rare. There have been plenty of cruel leaders, but the vast majority have been more like Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylonia or Darius I of Persia—that is, good in some ways and bad in others.
Modern times are no exception, and in fact perhaps the greatest collection of truly heartless leaders came to power in the twentieth century. These included Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany (1889-1945), Josef Stalin of Soviet Russia (1879-1953), China's own Mao Zedong (mow zhay-DAWNG; 1893-1976), and Pol Pot (pohl PAHT; 1925-1998) of Cambodia (kam-BOH-dee-uh). The first three together were responsible for the deaths of millions upon millions of people. Although Pol Pot killed "only" about two million in the years 1975 to 1979, the fact that this occurred in a country with just five million citizens makes him, proportionately, the greatest mass murderer in history.
What made these killings possible? To an extent, technology can be blamed: instead of spears and swords, their armies had tanks and machine guns. But the vast majority of their victims did not die in war; rather, they died in concentration camps, places where political prisoners were held until they died of starvation or overwork or were murdered. What truly fueled the murders committed by Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot were ideas.
Each of these tyrants subscribed to political beliefs—Nazism in Hitler's case and communism in the case of the other three—commonly described as
Totalitarianism (toh-tal-ih-TARE-ee-uhn-izm.) As its name suggests, totalitarianism calls for total control of the country by its leaders. In a totalitarian system, everything from the economy to schooling to even such seemingly innocent activities as sports and the arts must come under state control. In order to maintain that control, totalitarian leaders deal ruthlessly with anyone who opposes their aims, or who might oppose them.
In some ways, the Ch'in state that emerged in western China during the 300s B. c. served as an early model for
The empire of the Ch'in was far more unified than the empires of the Persians or Alexander. The emperor destroyed the power of the nobility, uniting the nation under his supreme power. He strengthened the military greatly. He ordered the building of a vast nationwide system of roads and canals to keep his armies supplied. He standardized weights and
Totalitarianism. Unlike earlier kings, the Ch'in rulers had a clearly defined system that was at least as much the product of scholars and philosophers as it was the creation of kings. In grade school terms, one might say that the class bullies had joined forces with the class "brains."
One such "brain" was Shang Yang, who served in the Ch'in court from 350 to 338 B. c. Shang Yang believed that everyone and everything in the country should center around its ruler, who should command his people's total obedience. He helped create a justification for the Ch'in police state, writing that the power of the government should be so great that the people would be less afraid of fighting an enemy nation than they would be of falling into the hands of the Ch'in authorities.
It is doubtful that Shang Yang's ideas had any effect on Hitler or Stalin, who had probably never heard of him. But Mao, who modeled himself on ancient Chinese leaders, most certainly had. In China during the 1950s and 1960s, he built a police state that rivaled
Any that had ever existed. In an attempt to root out all opposition, in 1966 he launched what was called the "Cultural Revolution," sending young soldiers out into the country to deal with anyone who seemed to oppose Communist or "Chinese" ways.
These included not only people who wanted to farm their land without government supervision but also those who wore Western clothes or listened to Western music. Millions died, and millions more had their lives ruined. A few years later in Cambodia, a Southeast Asian country historically influenced by China, Pol Pot modeled his own massacres on those committed by Mao. (The 1988 film The Last Emperor and the 1985 picture The Killing Fields provide excellent recreations of events in China and Cambodia, respectively.)
As for Shang Yang, he lived to regret the ideas he promoted. He had said that the king should deal harshly with his subjects. So in 338 b. c., the Ch'in ruler did—by executing a trusted court official named Shang Yang.
Measures; the currency, or money; the written language; and even the size of vehicle axles. But most of all, he put his people to work in slave-labor gangs.
World History
