Since the earliest towns and cities formed there have been periods where “heroic societies” celebrated powerful men by showering them with women and luxury goods, burying them like kings and immortalizing them with legends and songs. Beowulf is kind of the archetypal example.
I strongly believe that in modern times whenever we’ve veered toward fascism it’s because that social memory leaked out.
Since the earliest towns and cities formed there have been periods where “heroic societies” celebrated powerful men by showering them with women and luxury goods, burying them like kings and immortalizing them with legends and songs. Beowulf is kind of the archetypal example.
I strongly believe that in modern times whenever we’ve veered toward fascism it’s because that social memory leaked out.