by Mahir Cayan Ottoman empire continued: ***In the 18th century the centralist feudal state lost, bit by bit, its influence in the interior, the regional powers became stronger. The centralist feudal state was unable to make a stand because of the foreign interventions, and therefore it allied with the foreign forces and developed into a comprador state. As a result, two tendencies arose in the privileged group of footman. This privileged top layer of footman, which received their share from European capitalism, became, together with the sultans' family, compradors very quickly. The Galata-bankers, the compradorised palace and the top layer of the footman (the feudal-compradors-state), which received considerable shares from the Western exploitation, formed a coalition of privileged reactionaries. The gang of lackeys who quickly lost their old privileges by the foray of Western European capitalism and who therefore yearned for the old "glorious" times which privileged them, were not very pleased with this new development in the state. (The growing power of the regional forces also played a role in this). With this yearning for the old privileged days they, took a stand contrary to the feudal-comprador-tendency, at first under the flag of "Osmanism", and later, influenced by the nationalist tendencies in Europe, under the flag of "Turkism". However, the goals of this group are always, according to their character, indistinct and their actions did not have a immediate result. European capitalism, which found its agents in this group, canalized them mostly to pseudo-revolutionary goals - f.1st Turanism - by extending its benefits. And from time to time they could even use them as a threat against the reactions of the feudalists. The results: 1) The stage of development in which the Osman state could have gone over to capitalism by taken advantage of the geographic and technical discoveries in Europe was overslept because of the weak auto-dynamics. So it entered the phase of colonialisation. 2) Because of the characteristics of Osman feudalism (in a classical sense the relations of feudalism with the serfs were not open and sharp and internal exploitation was veiled and not very extreme), rebellion never became tradition for the workers. Because the centralist feudal state mainly practised the foreign foray and internal exploitation was relatively hidden at the same time, and acted more softly, it could appear to the Anatolian people as a elevated father, a Saviour. 3) The enormous power of the central-feudal authority (the regional powers were rather weak) brought a thought, a "idee fixe", to the masses that the state authority was "invincible" and resistance against it seemed "impossible" to them. Summarized: In this time, before the compradorisation of the feudal state, the state appeared to the people as "father of the people", as a "merciful state". In the time of the comprador-feudal state the state became a tyrant again, but the idea of "invincibility" and "resistance is useless" remained. However, during the first national liberation war the successful actions of the Kuvay-i Milliye (Nation Liberation) against the feudal state, which openly choose sides with the occupators, destroyed and washed away this appearances of "invincible", "resistance is useless", and "a God-given power" of the tyrannical Osman state. 4) Influenced by the internal and external dynamics a revolutionary bourgeoisie did not develop from the womb feudalism. Their task was, necessarily, taken up by petit-bourgeois intellectuals. -- Mine Aysen Doyran PhD Student Department of Political Science SUNY at Albany Nelson A. Rockefeller College 135 Western Ave.; Milne 102 Albany, NY 12222 ____________NetZero Free Internet Access and Email_________ Download Now http://www.netzero.net/download/index.html Request a CDROM 1-800-333-3633 ___________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
