Don't miss these Zeitgeist-y discussions on ancient Egyptian authoritarianism, patriarchy, and what coffins reveal about crisis and collapse in ancient Egypt
While I find the core values of Ma'at to be more or less commensurate within a classical liberal framework, I am always wary of trying to compare Pharaohs to Presidents. A feudal agrarian theocratic monarchy in the bronze and iron ages is so far removed economically and politically from a 21st century market oriented representative republic, that direct parallels become almost arbitrary. This is especially the case when evaluating current policies.
For example, while opponents of the current administration's policies see an unstable tyrant running roughshod over good governance forged by an educated and enlightened consensus in Washington DC, proponents support these changes precisely because they want to reduce and decentralize what they see as authoritarian overreach by the federal government. They too will point to wealthy boogeymen; only this time it's lobbyists, or heads of NGOs and corporations, who collaborate with the bureaucracy to mutually enrich each others' power and money.
Both seem to use the language of freedom versus authoritarianism in our American culture. Meanwhile, when I see lamentations and admonitions in Egyptian literature against their rulers and officials, they use their own cultural language of criticizing for dishonesty and corruption rather than the scope and size of government. I have seen complaints about taxes being too high as well in the ancient ritings; some things never change, but at least Pharaoh's supplicants, courtiers and hangers-on were more obvious in their flattery ;)
I’m not discussing ma’at itself. That is always balance, truth. It’s the misuse of ma’at as an ideology that can and should be compared between them and now, that corruption of using ma’at, or “law and order” as a fear mongering tactic or as an excuse for emergency government. The details and specific methods are different. The economies are different. So are the politics. But I insist that the patriarchal system is the same. And I think we need to see it as such, now as it reveals its ultimate cruelties.
I remember reading similar complaints over government-mandated COVID measures and the Patriot Act. Yet whatever the merits of flaws of the current effort to downsize the federal government, such actions are the last thing one would expect an "emergency government" to do to itself. These issues are all controversial, but all the more reason as to why I see them as multivariate.
I also forgot to mention my gratitude for your 2006 paper authored with J. Brett McClain about the adaptation of the daily offering meal of Amenophis I at Deir el Medina. Your work greatly assisted my own (admittedly amateur) translation of the similar menu from the Edfu offering hall.
While I find the core values of Ma'at to be more or less commensurate within a classical liberal framework, I am always wary of trying to compare Pharaohs to Presidents. A feudal agrarian theocratic monarchy in the bronze and iron ages is so far removed economically and politically from a 21st century market oriented representative republic, that direct parallels become almost arbitrary. This is especially the case when evaluating current policies.
For example, while opponents of the current administration's policies see an unstable tyrant running roughshod over good governance forged by an educated and enlightened consensus in Washington DC, proponents support these changes precisely because they want to reduce and decentralize what they see as authoritarian overreach by the federal government. They too will point to wealthy boogeymen; only this time it's lobbyists, or heads of NGOs and corporations, who collaborate with the bureaucracy to mutually enrich each others' power and money.
Both seem to use the language of freedom versus authoritarianism in our American culture. Meanwhile, when I see lamentations and admonitions in Egyptian literature against their rulers and officials, they use their own cultural language of criticizing for dishonesty and corruption rather than the scope and size of government. I have seen complaints about taxes being too high as well in the ancient ritings; some things never change, but at least Pharaoh's supplicants, courtiers and hangers-on were more obvious in their flattery ;)
I’m not discussing ma’at itself. That is always balance, truth. It’s the misuse of ma’at as an ideology that can and should be compared between them and now, that corruption of using ma’at, or “law and order” as a fear mongering tactic or as an excuse for emergency government. The details and specific methods are different. The economies are different. So are the politics. But I insist that the patriarchal system is the same. And I think we need to see it as such, now as it reveals its ultimate cruelties.
I remember reading similar complaints over government-mandated COVID measures and the Patriot Act. Yet whatever the merits of flaws of the current effort to downsize the federal government, such actions are the last thing one would expect an "emergency government" to do to itself. These issues are all controversial, but all the more reason as to why I see them as multivariate.
I also forgot to mention my gratitude for your 2006 paper authored with J. Brett McClain about the adaptation of the daily offering meal of Amenophis I at Deir el Medina. Your work greatly assisted my own (admittedly amateur) translation of the similar menu from the Edfu offering hall.
Oh lovely! I just loved writing that with Brett. His philological skills far outweigh my own. I learned so much about the cult of Amenhotep I, about the daily offering, about magic and food. Anyone who wants to read the article can find it here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5398fa85e4b07784a2762d33/t/59b1d5e246c3c498ebf03c7c/1504826877895/The_Daily_Offering_Meal_in_the_Ritual_of.pdf