A Tale of Two Lions, Monday, 9/3

[halfman-lion.livejournal.com]

"Hello," Tyrion said, as he walked quickly into class just as the bell rang. "Lady Ghanima has been delayed, so I'll start class on my own this week."

"The first type of power we're looking at is hereditary power -- specifically, the hereditary monarchy. In an hereditary monarchy, the crown goes from one member of a family to the next. Generally the transmission runs father to eldest child to that child's eldest son, but with caveats. For example, women are skipped over in most systems of this sort unless there are no sons in their generation. A younger brother may inherit if the elder one is removed -- for example, if he dies young or joins a religious order. And if a whole generation dies without issue, the crown may go to whatever cousin shouts the loudest."

"There are good things about this system," he added. "It tends to be stable. It allows families to become expert at governing, just as another family may be expert at making shoes or running taverns. It rewards people for historic strength. And it's common in almost all cultures, so clearly it's something humans are drawn toward."

"But there are also problems, of course. The family in charge may get to the point where they're so removed from the small folk they rule poorly. Traits like cruelty or feebleness of mind or body may come to dominate a family, such that their hold on the throne is weak and their rule poor. And if a child inherits the throne before he is fully adult, the country may suffer under his whims."

"Your assignment today," he finished, "is to discuss the concept and decide whether you favor or oppose the idea as a whole. If you oppose it, what would you suggest in its place?"

Comments

Re: Discussion [9/03]

[pulseof_life]

"If a ruler of, say, a peaceful nation has aspirations towards expanding their territory, they could be clever and tell the people that another ruler was the one making this necessary, perhaps?" Yeul was not the surest person ever about this. "Or if someone else had designs on ruling, if they could kill the ruler and take their place as the person they killed, people would trust them and be easily led in ways that were contrary to the good of all the people... right?"

Re: Discussion [9/03]

[notconflicted]

"I suppose someone somewhere had tried such a thing," Sia admitted. "But I don't think it'd be worth it in the long run. The truth would come out fairly quickly, especially in the second case."

Re: Discussion [9/03]

[pulseof_life]

"It might depend on how often people see their ruler," she offered. "There was a situation a few hundred years ago where someone in charge wasn't who the people thought he was but no one knew about that for ages because appearances were rare and faith was absolute."

Re: Discussion [9/03]

[notconflicted]

"No offense meant, but that seems quite stupid for a ruler to do," Sia replied. "Whether the person in charge means the best by their people or even if they're just power-hungry and want the attention, they should be seen by the public for many reasons. Including, apparently, this one."

Re: Discussion [9/03]

[pulseof_life]

"No offense taken," she said honestly. "It ended badly and could have gone far worse."

Yeul hesitated for a moment. "I think, at the beginning, the leader was seldom seen because they wished people to trust in the office and not the specific person."