/lit/ - Literature

>>13365219
>lords had to keep their vassal happy to keep them in line.
This is rather idealized view of how warrior castes actually functioned. It's not like *much* has actually changed since feudalism, except for scale. Ratio of violence one human can project.
Back then it was one guy, one horse and sword.
Now its one guy, one nuke. Hegemonies are important. It's still the same "because of warlords sitting on top you can get anything done". Whenever the hiearchies get less defined for any reason, you get a power vacuum and low tier violence until pecking order is established again. And you better have a system to establishing that order (see importance of laws of succession, such as democracy), because otherwise you get far more violence than there needs to be (most of african continent).
People legitimize feudal or democratic rules not because its a "fair" system, but only because it minimizes suffering in an inherently unfair one.