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In 1776, Thomas Paine made the best case for fighting kings −and being skeptical

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Re: In 1776, Thomas Paine made the best case for fighting kings −and being skeptical

#11

Post by vunderba »

> Paine labels kingship "the most prosperous invention the Devil ever set on foot for the promotion of idolatry"

Given that this kind of deference to a perceived authority (which manifests in hero worship, tribalism, influencers, religion, celebrity veneration, sports figures, etc) seems to be built into the very genetic fabric of 99% of the general populace I despair at ever seeing it end.

People simply can't wait to anoint their own personal king (be it Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, MrBeast, etc.)

Re: In 1776, Thomas Paine made the best case for fighting kings −and being skeptical

#12

Post by vunderba »

izzydata wrote: post #10
tuveson wrote: post #3

One funny fact about the “No Kings” protests held abroad is that they were called “No Tyants” so as to not be interpreted as anti-monarchist.

I wouldn't mind seeing the British monarchy get abolished as well. It's far outlived any purpose it may have had. Even without them actually participating in government they are basically just celebrities living off the social welfare of the people.

On a marginally positive note, at least it is largely a ceremonial position and the real power lies with the prime minister/cabinet/parliament.

Re: In 1776, Thomas Paine made the best case for fighting kings −and being skeptical

#13

Post by aurareturn »

izzydata wrote: post #10
tuveson wrote: post #3

One funny fact about the “No Kings” protests held abroad is that they were called “No Tyants” so as to not be interpreted as anti-monarchist.

I wouldn't mind seeing the British monarchy get abolished as well. It's far outlived any purpose it may have had. Even without them actually participating in government they are basically just celebrities living off the social welfare of the people.

They project soft power and attract tourists. I would bet that they’re actually a positive on UK’s economy and well being.

Re: In 1776, Thomas Paine made the best case for fighting kings −and being skeptical

#14

Post by ProjectArcturis »

izzydata wrote: post #10
tuveson wrote: post #3

One funny fact about the “No Kings” protests held abroad is that they were called “No Tyants” so as to not be interpreted as anti-monarchist.

I wouldn't mind seeing the British monarchy get abolished as well. It's far outlived any purpose it may have had. Even without them actually participating in government they are basically just celebrities living off the social welfare of the people.

At this point the British royals are basically tourist attractions. They probably generate more revenue than they consume.

Re: In 1776, Thomas Paine made the best case for fighting kings −and being skeptical

#15

Post by [deleted] »

izzydata wrote: post #10
tuveson wrote: post #3

One funny fact about the “No Kings” protests held abroad is that they were called “No Tyants” so as to not be interpreted as anti-monarchist.

I wouldn't mind seeing the British monarchy get abolished as well. It's far outlived any purpose it may have had. Even without them actually participating in government they are basically just celebrities living off the social welfare of the people.

[deleted]

Re: In 1776, Thomas Paine made the best case for fighting kings −and being skeptical

#16

Post by Yoric »

readthenotes1 wrote: post #7
olooney wrote: post #4

Paine kind of hit the nail on the head with this one: > "The law is king!" The 2024 Nobel prize in economics[1] was awarded to a team of three who investigated what causes a nation to prosper and identified "rule of law" as an essential ingredient[2]. [1]: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2024/pre... [2]: https://news.mit.edu/2024/mit-economists-daron-acemoglu-simo...

So you get a Nobel prize for proving Benjamin Franklin right (who was rephrasing a more ancient saying). Charlie Munger recalled it in 2003 as “Where there is no bread, there is no law; where there is no law, there is no bread.” It's going to be some easy picking if more figure that out ...

Now remember that there's an entire current in Silicon Valley that advocates against rule of law, at least when applied to them. Oh, and a felon taking some liberties with law sitting at the White House.

Yeah, I think reminding people that you don't get prosperity without rule of law is a good idea.

Re: In 1776, Thomas Paine made the best case for fighting kings −and being skeptical

#17

Post by ecocentrik »

olooney wrote: post #4

Paine kind of hit the nail on the head with this one: > "The law is king!" The 2024 Nobel prize in economics[1] was awarded to a team of three who investigated what causes a nation to prosper and identified "rule of law" as an essential ingredient[2]. [1]: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2024/pre... [2]: https://news.mit.edu/2024/mit-economists-daron-acemoglu-simo...

Nice slogan but right now in America, money is king and the law is bent to accommodate the wills of rich lawless men.

Re: In 1776, Thomas Paine made the best case for fighting kings −and being skeptical

#18

Post by BoxOfRain »

izzydata wrote: post #10
tuveson wrote: post #3

One funny fact about the “No Kings” protests held abroad is that they were called “No Tyants” so as to not be interpreted as anti-monarchist.

I wouldn't mind seeing the British monarchy get abolished as well. It's far outlived any purpose it may have had. Even without them actually participating in government they are basically just celebrities living off the social welfare of the people.

I don't like hereditary privilege at all, but the enormous constitutional headache removing the monarchy would cause might well outweight the practical benefits of doing away with it.

Re: In 1776, Thomas Paine made the best case for fighting kings −and being skeptical

#19

Post by deepsquirrelnet »

> “What would America’s Founding Fathers think if they were alive today?”

> For Cross, it is pointless to speculate about the present-day views of men who could not have imagined cotton candy, let alone the machine that makes it.

Some things, like “taxation without representation” seem to be timeless. You can call it irony or perhaps in some cases, a spade is still just a spade.

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