The state is a gang of armed men, its guns leveled at the rest of us.
Their boss, relying on them, orders us to do anything he wants.
Think of Caligula.
Think of Nero.
But he cannot last an hour without the loyalty of his henchmen, if not Sejanus then Macro.
And at least the passive acquiescence of the masses.
How can he, the gang boss, a leader of thugs, achieve those things?
What can he do to earn that loyalty and acceptance?
He can provide protection from external attack and vengeance for domestic ones.
Those, at least.
And maybe cheap grain from Egypt.
And so the state is born.
No comments:
Post a Comment