Introduction
Political myths have long served as powerful tools for legitimizing authority, fostering social harmony and identities, and justifying social hierarchies. From Plato’s vision of the “Noble Lies” to contemporary narratives used by advocates of Settler Colonialism, these myths have often masked power structures behind grand narratives of destiny, divine sanction, or historical determinism. This article explores how political myths have evolved over time, tracing their role from classical philosophy to modern geopolitical conflicts.
Plato’s Noble Lies: The Genesis of Political Mythology
One of the earliest and most explicit formulations of political myth is found in Plato’s Republic III. Plato (428-348 BC) suggests that societies must be governed by two carefully crafted falsehoods — “Noble Lies”—which serve to maintain social harmony and legitimize political hierarchy.
In the first myth, all members of the city are told that they are born from the same earth and therefore have a blood tie to the “motherland” and to one another. Their relationship to their city is analogous to that of the family. There is a natural brotherhood of the population. This makes what is a conventional attachment to the city seem natural.
In the second myth, the people are told that God(s) fashion citizens at birth with various metals to indicate their values, gold for rulers, silver for warriors, and bronze and iron for artisans. This makes the city’s class and social structure the result of divine dispensation. Accepting this myth encourages people to accept the natural hierarchy of human talents and virtues, their assigned roles (ruler, guardian, or artisan/worker), and especially unequal shares of honors and ruling.
These “Noble Lies” illustrate a fundamental function of political myths: to foster social harmony, justify social stratification and prevent challenges to the ruling class. Both Plato and the Enlightenment philosophers agreed that without such myths, it would be difficult for men to overcome their self-interest and devote themselves to the common good.
Medieval to Late-Modern Political Myths
During the European Middle Ages, the Divine Right of Kings was a powerful political myth used to solidify monarchical authority. Monarchs in Europe claimed their rule was ordained by God, rendering rebellion both sinful and illegitimate. Similarly, the Mandate of Heaven in China provided a mythological framework to justify dynastic authority, reinforcing the notion that rulers were chosen by cosmic forces.
The rise of nation-states in the 18th and 19th centuries saw the emergence of nationalist myths, often based on fabricated or exaggerated historical narratives. Examples of such nationalist myths include British myth of the Glorious Revolution, which justified British exceptionalism while reinforcing national identity; and America’s Manifest Destiny – the idea that the U.S. was divinely destined to bring democracy and civilization to the North American continent.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s (1770-1831) philosophy introduced the concept of the “end of history,” suggesting that history progresses toward an ultimate realization of human freedom and rationality. This prediction has been mythologized to imply that certain political systems represent the final and most advanced stage of societal development, thereby justifying existing political structures as the culmination of historical necessity. Karl Marx (1818-1883), a student of Hegel, argued for the inevitability of proletarian revolution leading to a classless, stateless society. This myth has justified many political movements and regimes in the 20th century, most of which have resulted in totalitarianism in the guise of inevitable historical progression.
20th Century Political Myths: Totalitarianism and Ideology
In the 20th century, Germany propagated the myth of the “German Volk” – the idea that the German people shared a unique, noble, and superior cultural and racial heritage and destiny. This myth was later exploited by nationalist and fascist movements to justify territorial expansion and racial purification via genocide. Similarly, Soviet Communism reprised Marx’s myth of proletarian revolution and historical inevitability to justify state control and repression.
Contemporary Political Myths: Settler Colonialism and Historical Revisionism
In describing both the history and ongoing process of colonization, some scholars and activists critical of settler colonialism revive the 18th century European myth of the noble savage in service of their critique. Settler colonialism is a concept used in postcolonial studies to describe the history of European settlement, control, and ‘exploitation’ of African, Middle-South-and-Far Eastern lands, and European settler colonization of Australia, New Zealand, and North America. It also describes what proponents believe is an ongoing process of land dispossession and cultural erasure of indigenous peoples.
The ‘noble savage’ myth depicts indigenous societies as more peaceful, egalitarian, and idyllic than those of the European colonizers. It often downplays evidence of political complexity, intertribal conflict, and hierarchical structures in tribal cultures. This myth is then contrasted with the greedy, resource-exploiting, polluting, hierarchical, savage, and expansionary methods of the European colonists and their present-day descendants.
Contemporary political myths continue to play a central role in justifying contemporary political projects, particularly in support of the political aims of settler colonialism.
Conclusion
Whether in ancient Greece, medieval Europe, European colonial projects, fascist regimes, or modern states, political myths are enduring and adaptable, and seek to establish self-identity, preserve social harmony, or legitimize political narratives and structures. But what the Settler Colonialist noble savage myth as well as other nationalist myths conceal is that the homelands underlying the claim to indigeneity and exceptionalism were likely conquered and stolen by their ancestors as well as by others before them. This obscured reality supports the unsavory view either that the stronger are right to take what they want and the weak to suffer what they must or, at the very least, that indigeneity is an inadequate notion in adjudicating claims for retributive justice.
Further Reading
Dunbar-Ortiz, R. An Indigenous People’s History of the United States (2014)
Englert, S. Settler Colonialism: An Introduction (2017)
Hamalainen, P. Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America (2022)
Hegel, GWF. Phenomenology of Spirit (1807)
Horne, G., The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism (2017)
Marx, K. Communist Manifesto (1848)
Plato, Republic III
