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Because power is self-sustaining – if you have power, you can reward your supporters and punish your enemies, and that gives people an incentive to support you and keep you in power. And if the ruler has kids, he can arrange for an orderly transition of power when he dies, which gives his supporters an incentive to support the next generation as well.
(Or see this CGP Grey video, which says it much better than I can.)
Man. I love CGP Grey. But there is so much wrong in this set of videos, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Hopefully, I’ll debunk some of those myths along with the rest as we bravely wade through the rest of this digression… on a digression… on a digression from the main topic at hand WHICH I PROMISE I HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN ABOUT AND EVERY TIME THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE NEWS OR SOCIAL MEDIA THAT’S LIKE, OMG I SHOULD HAVE COVERED THAT AGES AGO BUT NOW I CAN’T, IT HURTS IT HURTS SO BAD YOU HAVE N-
but I digress.
Mr. Burney,
This is your parade; we’re in no position to rain on it. I think what you’re doing with this comic is amazing, insightful, and altruistic, and I’m nowhere close to an authority on the matter to judge your choice or depth of digressions. Thank you for what you’re doing, and digress away.
Thank you very much! I really appreciate the kind words.
But though this is indeed my parade, I really do WANT people to try to rain on it. When I say something that contradicts common wisdom, or is even provocatively controversial, I always hope that someone will take issue with it and spark a thoughtful debate in the comments. There’s always something more I didn’t know, another point of view I didn’t consider, and I want to learn just as much as you do! I have even gone back and revised pages thanks to some of these discussions, and I’m sure I will again.
Thanks again, you made my day. Now back to the digression!