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- A monarch who governs with power will want to give power to people that she can trust. This means that it will be given to people who are connected by family or by some means of dependency. The ability of a person to carry out his duties will be of secondary importance. Therefore echelons of government will be inefficient. The monarch may also allow those who are given power to exercise it for their own gain. Therefore corruption is more likely to occur.
- One way that monarchs maintain their power is by delineating wealth and power through rigid classes of people. In a feudal system, for example, the monarch owned all of the land. She would give some to barons who paid taxes or supplied soldiers for the monarch in return. The barons would give some land to knights who in return would pay taxes or supply their services as soldiers. The knights would allow peasants to farm the land in return for some free labor for the knight. This type of system enabled the monarch to keep control but there was very little movement between the classes.
- The outbreak of wars could be decided by the whim of monarchs. The deciding factor would not be perceived misdeeds by an enemy but on the character and personality of the monarch. If the monarch was a successful warlord, he could expand his territory and subjugate more people. This not only meant that nations and continents could be disrupted for many years but also that countless people were unnecessarily killed.
- Because the country was ruled by a hereditary monarch and lands and power were inherited rather than earned, government remained in the hands of a small number of families. This meant that most people were excluded from any notion of being involved in political decision making. There were no opportunities to gain civil liberties or individual rights.
Dissemination of Power
A System of Classes
Wars
Non Inclusivity
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