@leashless @jaycousins There was a massive peasant rebellion in the 1400s before Britain was a colonial power which lead to better treatment of the non-rich classes. Humane treatment is a result of power balances between classes and groups, and/or requirements of elites for their followers.
@leashless @jaycousins semi-equal treatment is a good that societies which actually have to work offer. If you really need to be competitive, near equality raises competitiveness massively, including military competitiveness. See the Mongols for an example.
@leashless @jaycousins there is a vast fantasy that totalitarianism is more effective. It isn't. Relatively equal societies smash totalitarian ones, because overly top down decision making bottlenecks on a few individuals.
@leashless @jaycousins the current era does not contra-indicate this. America is an oligarchy, and almost all of the major innovations are results of the post-war liberal egalitarian period for white males or its hangover, including semiconductors, the internet, and the web.
@leashless @jaycousins you need a class of relatively equal people, and that class needs to be at least a large minority of the population compared to competitors. The closer it is to 100% in a functioning society (not equality of poverty) the more powerful the society.
@leashless @jaycousins The mongols and the manchu crush the Chinese. The Greeks crush the Persians. Both are, comparatively (that is the important word) far more egalitarian than the Persians. The military class are basically equals. And as a result of that plus a tech, they crush.
@leashless @jaycousins the solidarity required for close order infantry and for highly disciplined high morale cavalry requires egalitarianism to create. It may be possible to separate it later (sometimes it has been done), but it starts in egalitarian societies, and it works best in them too.
@leashless @jaycousins what is true, is that in a corrupt society, totalitarianism and various variants works better. As Machiavelli kept noting, certain virtues are required for free societies, and if the people lose them they cannot run a free society, only despotisms.
