C/H/13. Approaches to History: "The ruling ideas of each age have ever been the ideas of its ruling classes". [the communist manifesto, 1848] How far does power influence the production of historical knowledge?

This essay will argue justice; punishment, rule of law and the autonomy of the individual are governed and identified by a history created by the oligarchy. Nietzsche and Marx argue that the rule of law through morality is a method to support the will of the moral elite's rule and creators of history. This society strengthened itself through institutionalizing these morals in rules of law and when this point in history is achieved society is strong, but the autonomy of the individual is overridden unless part of the moral elite. The moral elite holds a certain amount of autonomy and one of the indicators of this position is the ability to mete out mercy. There are theorists, such as Durkheim and Weber that argue that individuals can forge a new set of morals and principles that re-writes history and eliminate their position of subservience. This essay will explore these arguments and look at the definition of law, which has been written by the history of the elite to enslave the masses.