Quotation of the Day…

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… is from page 64 of the 2003 3rd edition of Patricia Crone’s 1989 book, Pre-Industrial Societies: Anatomy of the Pre-Modern World:

Clearly, pre-industrial governments generated mistrust, first because they were brutal (notably in their treatment of peasants and dissenters), and secondly because they were arbitrary. They were arbitrary because they vested unlimited power in whimsical rulers, who, though incapable of controlling the political process, could certainly intervene in unexpected ways and above all bring their power to bear on individuals, whom they would raise to power, demote or execute as they saw fit; ‘off with his head’ is the standard line of kings in popular tales. Indeed, the very fact that seemingly unlimited power proved impotent when brought to bear on processes rather than individuals encouraged arbitrary victimization.