Quote:
Originally Posted by Twilightnight
Before the modern age, it seems the good majority of people were capable of killing others even torturing them without feeling a sense of remorse or guilt. Killing thousands and torturing people just for fun was something very few seemed to have an issue with, why was this? Up until the modern age did people just completely lack a conscious of any kind? You look back in history and there doesn't seem to be any king/emperor or ruler that existed that not only had absolutely no issue killing tens of thousands of people but torturing their own people or watching them suffer, even just for fun.
Before the modern age did ANY ruler anywhere ever feel bad for anything that today we would view as not only wrong but abhorrent?
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For the same reasons people spread gossip or go out of their way to thwart someone else's success today. While we'd like to think of the amazement Napolean saw out of giving men ribbons for valor in combat, most rulers have gone on with the tried and true method. Fear.
People avoid their fears, they do not confront them. You comply with laws in part because you respect them, but also in part, because you fear repercussions of not following a law. A nation of enlightened individuals may be swayed to move forward together, but an ancient nation needs to control their populace with fear.
Of course, cruelly enforced laws of early civilization were certainly more welcome than the time prior to civilization. I read somewhere (and I do not have a source, sorry) that nearly 60% of cavemen were killed by other people. Even the largest and strongest caveman will stand little chance against a small organized milita.