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You raise a good point about Rome. The patron/client model seemed to keep the social peace for quite a while. Not unlike the social welfare system that is descr

You raise a good point about Rome. The patron/client model seemed to keep the social peace for quite a while. Not unlike the social welfare system that is described in the article. Additionally, I think the development of firearms and cheap/easy to use weapons actually had the opposite effect that you propose. Specifically, the development of firearms led to a profound expansion of the democratization of violence. This is the meaning of the quote, "God made Man but Sam Colt made them equal." Indeed, it wasn't the high technology that was important but how that technology reduced the need to invest our only truly scarce resource, time, in order to kill. Pick up a gun, of almost any kind and in minutes you will be able to kill a similarly armed opponent. Now try the same thing with a bow and arrow or a sword (or more commonly a spear).

jessaustin 12y ago
Pick up a gun, of almost any kind and in minutes you will be able to kill a similarly armed opponent. Now try the same thing with a bow and arrow or a sword (or more commonly a spear). I guess I understand this sentiment, but as someone who has shot many rounds, many arrows, and also played kendo for years, it just seems wrong. Guns are more powerful than the other weapons, but that extra power doesn't mean one can't shoot and miss. (It also doesn't mean one can't intend not to harm oneself or others, and then fail in that intention, but if you don't own or use firearms you don't need to worry about that.) If you have a gun, you can kill on a whim. If you're skilled with a gun, you can kill on a whim, reliably. It is just like a bow and arrows, in that respect. If you have a melee weapon, you can kill if you really mean to do so. If you're skilled with a melee weapon, you can kill if you really mean to do so, reliably.
- jsprogrammer 12y ago
  The real power is in how easy it is to 'activate' the weapon. A gun requires, what, a few dozen PSI on a trigger that most anyone can activate and the power you get out of it is the same regardless of who (or what) activated the trigger. A bow and arrow requires some knowledge about how to use it and enough strength and coordination to fire it. Same with a sword, except you also have to be within feet of the target.

jessaustin 12y ago

Pick up a gun, of almost any kind and in minutes you will be able to kill a similarly armed opponent. Now try the same thing with a bow and arrow or a sword (or more commonly a spear). I guess I understand this sentiment, but as someone who has shot many rounds, many arrows, and also played kendo for years, it just seems wrong. Guns are more powerful than the other weapons, but that extra power doesn't mean one can't shoot and miss. (It also doesn't mean one can't intend not to harm oneself or others, and then fail in that intention, but if you don't own or use firearms you don't need to worry about that.) If you have a gun, you can kill on a whim. If you're skilled with a gun, you can kill on a whim, reliably. It is just like a bow and arrows, in that respect. If you have a melee weapon, you can kill if you really mean to do so. If you're skilled with a melee weapon, you can kill if you really mean to do so, reliably.

jsprogrammer 12y ago
The real power is in how easy it is to 'activate' the weapon. A gun requires, what, a few dozen PSI on a trigger that most anyone can activate and the power you get out of it is the same regardless of who (or what) activated the trigger. A bow and arrow requires some knowledge about how to use it and enough strength and coordination to fire it. Same with a sword, except you also have to be within feet of the target.