Catonism refers to a repressive social order that supports those in power and opposes reforms and development, particularly those that would benefit the peasantry.[1] It is based on the romantic political view that gives more weight to the organic and whole nature of peasant culture.
Barrington Moore introduced Catonism in his book Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy as the "advocacy of the sterner virtues, militarism, contempt for 'decadent' foreigners and anti-intellectualism".[2] Moore coined the word "Catonism" with a nod towards Cato the Elder (234-149 BCE).[3] He characterized the Catonist attitude as the reaction from rural aristocracy towards rapid political and economic changes.
The social order has three core beliefs. The first is the notion that liberty is the highest good and that sacrifices made for its achievement is a worthy pursuit.[4] The second is the belief that service to one's country constitutes an individual's most important calling. Finally, it holds that the proper outlook towards power must be anchored on vigilance since authority can be utilized to achieve a specific purpose or advance an interest. Moreover, policies are not supported to obtain happiness or wealth but to contribute to a way of life that proved valid in the past.[5]
. Barrington Moore, Jr. . Social origins of dictatorship and democracy: lord and peasant in the making of the modern world . with a new foreword by Edward Friedman and James C. Scott . First published 1966 . 1993 . . Boston . 978-080705073-6 . 491.
. Barrington Moore. Social origins of dictatorship and democracy: Lord and peasant in the making of the modern world. registration. 1966. March 1967. Beacon Press. Boston. 491. 9780807050750. The key elements in the rhetoric - advocacy of the sterner virtues, militarism, contempt for 'decadent' foreigners, and anti-intellectualism - appear in the West at least as early as Cato the Elder (234-149 B.C.) who operated his own latifundium with slave labor. It is fitting, therefore, to label this complex of ideas with his name. A similar rhetoric, according to some authorities also in response to a threat to traditional peasant economy, had emerged in China with the legalists, around the 4th century B.C..