THE VIRTUE OF MONARCHIES Monarchies, or “private governments” denied access to p

THE VIRTUE OF MONARCHIES

Monarchies, or “private governments” denied access to political status to all but the family, and those few hired by the family.

The remainder of the population sought status signals in the market, and within their identity groups. These societies were ‘diverse’. Sections of each city were dedicated to the cultural expression of their members, and signals within those sections served to convey status without the need for political power to convey such status.

Under representative democracy, heterogeneous societies compete for the political power necessary to alter their status in relation to other groups. Instead of using the market, and market behavior to signal status. IN other words, we harm cultures by giving them access to political power.

The answer is not how we share power. It is how we have no ability to use the violence of the state to create signals that are only mutually beneficial if they are manufactured do to the most important community service we can deliver: market participation.