Talk:Classical definition of racialism

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Racialism

Hi. There are a couple of issues I wanted to address about racialism, and I was going to make some changes but thought I would consult with you first.

1) The terms "Asiatic" (and "Oriental") are deprecated in our day and age due to negative racial connotations, and additionally the Egyptians cannot be described as being an Eastern peoples due to being in Africa and thus outside the boundaries of Asia. I would suggest simply using the phrase "non-Hellenic civilizations" instead, since that would be most accurate as cultural concepts based on geography such as "Eastern" and "Western" did not exist back then. For instance, from the Greek perspective, there were only Greeks and barbarians, and the barbarians could be from anywhere outside the Hellenic sphere, whether to the east or the west and so forth.

I agree that the Egyptians are not Eastern but Hamatic. For the term Asiatic, I quote Aristotle who did use the term; i.e. "...for because the barbarians are more servile in their nature than the Greeks, and the Asiatics than the Europeans, they endure despotic rule without resentment." The term Asiatic in English, is "Ασιαν" in the Greek. This reference is from Politics, Book III, 9, §3; 1285a 20; Loeb, pg 249. The Greeks did use the term "Asian" to describe people to the East of them. And it was quite derogatory. The Greeks were very conscious of race. Edith Hamilton, the American classicist, writes on this dichotomy.

2) I don't believe it's very SPOV to describe their systems as "monarchial despotism" and as forms of "tyranny." From the Greek perspective, this may have been true (as the Greeks considered them barbarians), but from their own perspectives, their forms of government were definitely not despotic or tyrannical. "Feudalism" might be a better word to use, but for the sake of SPOV, I would suggest simply referring to them as monarchies (minus the "depostism") and leaving the Greek perspective for it's own article, i.e. "Greek view of monarchism" or something along those lines. Because honestly, all forms of monarchy prior to the modern age of constitutionalism can be labelled as "despotic," but this would be POV since it would be out of context of the era.

I refer you to the above quote where Aristotle says of the Asiatic people that they "endure despotic rule". I have seen it where the Asian governments were called "Asian monarchical despotism" and this form of government was also and can be applied to the Roman Empire. The Roman Emperors practiced "Asian monarchical despotism".

Thanks for your participation and let's work together on this subject. It is quite confusing these terms of race, Racism, Racialism, Ethnocentrism, and the American colloquial meaning—Racism (American). I refer you to Septuagint, Genesis ch 11 and the commentary on that page for the basis of where I come from. (I will also copy this dialogue to the Talk:Racialism page.)WHEELER 17:11, 20 Oct 2006 (EDT)

At any rate, what are your thoughts? Take care, neo 12:36, 20 Oct 2006 (EDT)

I look forward to looking to working with you to improve these articles.WHEELER 17:11, 20 Oct 2006 (EDT)

Stuff to put in

(23) And the Lord said to her, There are two nations in thy womb and two peoples shall be separated from thy belly, and one people shall excel the other, and the [b] elder shall serve the younger Septuagint, Genesis ch 25.WHEELER 20:54, 27 Oct 2006 (EDT)