The world is not black and white, but abstraction may lead to better solutions. I started a new chain of thought today, and I wonder what you think.

There are too many old stories of good and just kings to ignore and think they are solely fantasy. There is an entire book of stories, The Shahnameh that was commissioned for the princes of Persia to become good kings. When you are a good king, you have very little threat of someone usurping you. And even if there is threat, you have the alliances to protect yourself.

So how did the good king become a slaver? What are the actions of the king that marks his demise before the people - what are the events that cause a populace to lose faith in the rule of the land and revolt - and is there anything the king can do to earn that trust back?

I am reading Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure right now, and the deputy of Vienna attempts to seduce a virgin who wishes to be a nun, with the promise that to defile herself would result in the release of her brother, who is sentenced to execution for fornication. Right now my mind is on the idea that when those in power cause “the common people” to betray their morals, trust breaks. And without rectification, does the system crumble? When?

What stories do you know in which the good king becomes a slaver?