Abstract
Godwin focuses on the power relationships within a monarch’s court beginning with ministers who must flatter a monarch who is ignorant of much of what is going on around him and who have their own “ministers” and other subordinates to control. The gradations of power within the court make possible caprice, personal advancement, and corruption at taxpayer’s expense. The king’s subjects are kept in place by expensive displays of pomp and ceremony and the perpetuation of the myth of the monarch’s supernatural abilities. The pensions and salaries of the court are paid for by a system of taxation which is unequal and oppressive.
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Notes
- 1.
The substance of these arguments may be found in Mr. Burke’s Speech on Oeconomical Reform.
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Hart, D.M., Chartier, G., Kenyon, R.M., Long, R.T. (2018). William Godwin, “Of Courts, Subjects, and Pensions” (1793). In: Hart, D., Chartier, G., Kenyon, R., Long, R. (eds) Social Class and State Power. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64894-1_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64894-1_5
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