I have been rereading later books in the Dune saga by Frank Herbert. In God Emperor of Dune I came across this exchange between the God Emperor Leto II and his majordomo Moneo:
“Religion always leads to rhetorical despotism,” Leto said. “Before the Bene Gesserit, the Jesuits were the best at it…. You learn enough about rhetorical despotism from a study of the Bene Gesserit. Of course, they do not begin by deluding themselves with it…. It leads to self-fulfilling prophecy and justifications for all manner of obscenities.”
“This… rhetorical despotism, Lord?”
“Yes! It shields evil behind walls of self-righteousness which are proof against all arguments against the evil…. It feeds on deliberately twisted meanings to discredit opposition,” Leto said. (emphasis added; New York: Ace, 1981; 116)
I wonder what examples of rhetorical despotism one might find if we look closely at the religious organizations with which we are most familiar.
