The Despot

 

The despot relegates as many sorts of behaviour as possible, even those that were previously considered quite blameless, to the margins of his system, declares them to be a marginal violation and therefore dirty. It is prohibitions such as these that increase fear, and that is what concerns him. Even the most willing are finally unable to satisfy his requirements, become guilty and henceforth are dependent on clemency.

Therefore it is a hard and fast rule, that the stronger the bid for power, the louder the cry for order and cleanliness. The fact that this produces fresh dirt is painstakingly suppressed. But in reality power desires the universal pigsty; its intention is not to promote hygiene but itself. It follows that the exercise of power is a dirty business, in the most literal sense.

Scum of the. ..consumed with envy they profane our holiest...and the most priceless jewels of the human heritage they trample into the... of their styes. Drop by drop they pour the...of sedition into the minds of our innocent...and with evil mockery seek to drag down into the mire a spirit that has raised itself on... ... far above the degradation of their...

The despot, to finish with this example however inadequately, is the only person in his realm who is not impinged upon; no-one comes near him, among so many he is the most compact unity. This is because of the constantly withheld pressure of his numerous subjects. He therefore lays claim to most space where least exists, which is in the middle. The lust that is said to accompany the exercise of power is best described as a sensually excited palpation of the personal boundary, followed by an increasingly emphatic confirmation (which may eventually become intoxicating) that it is still impregnable, intact, like an armour.

De Sade offers a valid schema in his portrayal of the despotic character, linking lust for power with coprophilia and licentiousness, which reach a climax in the victim's death. According to the dialectics of dirt the despot is particularly easily defiled, precisely because he is untouched. A stain on his honour, which is to say an inadequacy in terms of authority and ego attributed to him, may in certain circumstances be caused by a mere glance and must be washed away with blood - whereas, strangely enough, other forms of killing defile rather than cleanse.

In order to enforce his claim to power at every level from top to bottom, the despot exploits the attitude to dirt of those whose social position is not clear. He regularly attempts to increase their number. In the past the ranks of the so called petty bourgeoisie served as a reservoir; nowadays it is more likely to be the white-collar workers. So in order that no-one should come along and call them filth, they will set themselves up as advocates of the strictest classification, as vigilant protectors of social order and proper respect; will preach cleanliness remorselessly wherever they go, become enraged by the slightest deviation, and whenever possible will fight against the tolerance on which they secretly know they depend.