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> the whole purpose of government is to protect us from that organization of society that naturally arose in the West (and east Asia, too) before central govern
by spindritf 13y ago
> the whole purpose of government is to protect us from that organization of society that naturally arose in the West (and east Asia, too) before central governments, namely feudalism
Feudal lords were the government. A centralised one, too, with a king or some other emperor at the top.
Democratic governments are not protecting you from the feudal ones any more than your ISP protects you from the telephone company.
- pron 13y agoIn some cases there was a king at the top, and in some there wasn't. But in any case, the king's powers were far from what we call "government" today. His authority was limited to whatever form of self-interested allegiance he could get from his lords. A centralized government tries to have a monopoly on power, in the sense that it can limit the power any citizen, or a group of citizens, can have. Of course, some governments may choose to limit power selectively, and allow some individuals, or small groups, obtain almost as much power as feudal lords. But it's the democratic government's duty to protect us from feudal lords -- in fact it's the only weapon we have against feudalism -- so there's a fine balance to strike between a government that's despotic and one that allows feudalism to flourish.