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One sub-set of the mandarin is the state propagandist. The earliest surviving instance of state propaganda also happens to be the earliest well-documented piece of history: the inscribed cylinders which document the border struggles between the rival Sumerian city-states Lagash and Umma between ca. 2450...
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The Throne/Altar Principle is a sub-set of the Magistrate/Mandarin Principle. The latter principle states: The state is a maleficent symbiosis of enslaving brigands (magistrates) and corrupt intellectuals (mandarins). Throughout history magistrates have used mandarins to manufacture consent (through...
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States throughout history have covered their criminal acts with a veneer of false legitimacy by claiming to be divine agents. The earliest recorded incident of this is in perhaps the "war of nerves" conducted by Enmerkar, ruler of the Sumerian city-state of Erech (Uruk), against Aratta, an...
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This is the first of a series of posts called "Principles of Man". I will continually return to each post in this series adding more evidence for its importance from history. The state is a maleficent symbiosis of enslaving brigands (magistrates) and corrupt intellectuals (mandarins). Throughout...
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The state was likely born out of a cult. The former would not have been supportable with the latter. Further, it is unlikely that the latter would last long without evolving into the former. Thus it is reasonable to believe that both would have originated in the same place. In my post “Between...
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As I argued in my post The Sword and the Lie , the state is a symbiosis of violent criminals (the sword) and propagandizing intellectuals (the lie). The sword needs the lie. Rulers always outnumber the ruled, so a reign predicated on bald criminality (like a protection racket) would shortly be overthrown...