"'Political satire''' is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where Political discourse analysis and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly forbidden. Historically, the public opinion in the Athenian democracy was remarkably influenced by the political satire performed by the comic poets at the Ancient Greek theatre.Henderson, J. (1993) ''Comic Hero versus Political Elite" pp.307-19 in Political satire is usually distinguished from political protest or political dissent, as it does not necessarily carry an agenda nor seek to influence the political process. While occasionally it may, it more commonly aims simply to provide entertainment. By its very nature, it rarely offers a constructive view in itself; when it is used as part of protest or dissent, it tends to simply establish the error of matters rather than provide solutions.

Origins and genres

Satire can be traced back throughout history; wherever organized government has existed, so has satire. The oldest example that has survived till today is Aristophanes. The Roman period, for example, gives us the satirical poems and epigrams of Martial while some social satire exists in the writings of Paul of Tarsus in the New Testament of the Bible. Cynic philosophers often engaged in political satire. Due to lack of political freedom of speech in many ancient civilizations, covert satire is more usual than overt satire in ancient literatures of political liberalism. During the 20th century, satire moved from print to other forms of media (in cartoons as political cartoons with heavy caricature and exaggeration, and in List of political magaziness) and the parallel exposure of political scandals to performances (including television shows). Examples include musicians such as Tom Lehrer, live performance groups like the Capitol Steps, and public television and live performer Mark Russell. Additional subgenres include such literary classics as "Gulliver's Travels'' and ''Animal Farm'', and more recently, internet ''Ezine'' and website sources such as ''The Onion'', the ''Humor Times", ArnoldSpeaks.com, and the Happening Happy Hippy Party. Some websites exist solely to poke fun at politicians, per the examples below.

19th century

France

One example is Maurice Joly's 1864 pamphlet entitled "The Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu'' (''Dialogue aux enfers entre Machiavel et Montesquieu''), which attacks the political ambitions of Napoleon III. It was first published in Brussels in 1864. The piece used the literary device of a dialogue between two diabolical plotters in Hell, the historical characters of Niccolò Machiavelli and Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, to cover up a direct, and illegal, attack on Napoleon's rule. The noble baron Montesquieu made the case for liberalism; the Florence political writer Machiavelli presented the case for cynical despotism. In this manner, Joly communicated the secret ways in which liberalism might spawn a despot like Napoleon III. However, The Prince#Interpretation_of_The_Prince_as_political_satire itself has also been sometimes understood as political satire.

Germany

According to Santayana, Nietzsche was actually "a keen satirist". "Nietzsche's satire" was aimed at Lutheranism.

References

External links

Examples of Political Satire on the web:

Protesters taking part in a demonstration in London's Parliament Square were caught in violent brawls with the Metropolitan Police as United States President George W. Bush was making his way to meet Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown at Downing Street on Sunday evening. The protest, called for by the , the and the British Muslim Initiative, was attended by 2000 people according to , and had previously been banned from marching past . As they approached the barrier police had erected to block off access to , police officers defended the blockade wielding batons and arresting 25 protesters. While Deputy assistant commissioner to the , Chris Allison, criticized the protests as "deplorable" acts that could not "be described as lawful demonstration", a Stop the War Coalition member put the blame on the police, stating that there would have been no violence at all had the demonstration be allowed to pass by the Prime Minister's residence. An earlier demonstration near , where President Bush met with for , stayed peaceful. On Monday, Bush will join Gordon Brown in talks with , the first minister of Northern Ireland, in , where further protests are announced.

Sources