From ancient Mesopotamia forward, man accepted the divine right of kings: hereditary autocrats who ruled by decree. A proper king doesn’t answer to aristocrats, courts, or parliament; certainly not to the peasantry. He derives his power straight from God.
If power corrupts, then ceding unchecked power to one man is a masterclass of corruption. Imagine living under constant martial law, your freedoms and very life controlled by a tyrant. Today we would call him a “warlord.” Then the king’s eldest son ruled no matter if he turned out to be a nincompoop, which was often. Historian Charles Halperin cites a litany of massacres in the 16th century alone: in Bavaria, France, the Netherlands, and Ivan the Terrible’s mass terror in Russia.
Monarchy bred strict divisions by social class. If my father worked in the fields, I worked in the fields. If he was an earl, I became earl—if I’m the eldest male. Many peasants and second sons faced poor prospects at home and fled to America. Our republic was the best new idea of 1776.
Australian professor Anne Twome reminds us that autocracy is inferior to “representative and responsible government, the rule of law and the separation of powers.” Given time and lots of bloodshed, the rule of man declined and the rule of law rose. Today most kings reign as constitutional monarchs, with only ceremonial duties.
Yet the vestiges of hierarchy remain. My late professor Jack Gravlee studied a British election in the 1980s. A middle-aged socialist shared his strong opinions about how England should be run. Then he concluded, “But I’m just working class.” As an American, Jack was taken aback by the man’s Old-World subservience, just as you are right now.
I’m Jeff Gentry
Best reference:
Charles J. Halperin. (2019). Ivan the Terrible: Free to Reward and Free to Punish. University of Pittsburgh Press.
Dumb Ideas that Changed the World copyright 2024 by Jeff Gentry. All rights reserved.
