The Rat King and his Patronage Network
The Rat King and his Patronage Network "Once the devil catches you by a thread, he’ll soon be leading you around by a rope." Julius Ruechel Regardless of whether leadership is elected, appointed, inherited, or seized by a coup, all political power ultimately depends on entangled threads of patronage that grow up underneath that political power, fueled by mutual obligation and self-interest. And as it grows, it begins to warp the minds of all those who get caught up in its net. During the Roman Era, their entire political system revolved around elaborate patronage networks in which political support was openly exchanged for preferential access to resources, benefits, or favors. They didn’t even try to hide it — the Roman patron-client relationship was a formal and visible social structure that influenced elections, judicial decisions, and economic outcomes. It was so deeply embedded in society and so openly practiced that Romans had a well-established daily morning ritual, c...