Enlightened Depotism
...rms and improvements of bad conditions were not enough but that these conditions should be totally eradicated. For example where his mother regulated the position of serfdom Joseph abolished it. Along with this Joseph also equalized taxes so that there was no tax break for nobles. In the same lines he created a policy of equal punishment for equal crimes allowing nobles to be punished the same as peasants. Joseph was particularly unlike his predecessors in the fact that he allowed complete religious toleration even to the Jews. . His theory is brilliantly summed up in his own words “the state means the greatest good for the greatest number”. Joseph truly acted for the betterment not of his position but to the bettering of the people who he reigned over. Another example of and enlightened despot can be found, although different than Joseph II, in Frederick the Great. Unlike Joseph, Frederick the Great did not impose sweeping and fast reforms onto his people but was considered enlightened due to his ideals and thoughts. For example even though his country was segregated by class he still believed that his “job” was to make his people happy. He is also considered by many to be enlightened for his own ideals and the company he kept. Fredrick wrote many philosophical works and was highly praised for such friendships as the great literary master Voltaire. Although he did not make many reforms Frederick kept his country very well as is shown by the 300,000 immigrants that poured into it. Overall, Frederick the Great is considered an Enlightened Despot, not due to his political improvements but for his mind and manner which both coincided with the ideas and manners of the time of enlightenment. Both of these two rulers, although different, displayed the values of being an Enlightened Despot by their loyalty to their people instead of to their own economic or territorial ambitions. Similar to both Frederick the Great and Joseph II, Catherine the great in Russia led her country to ne...