Shall We Kill or Enslave Caesar? Analyzing the Caesar Model

No 3460, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Abstract: When a society overthrows a ruler – call the ruler Caesar – what determines whether Caesar is killed or enslaved? This paper presents a model of killing versus enslaving Caesar, based on a new theory which unifies justice, status, and power. The model pertains to societies which value ordinal goods like bravery, yielding predictions for three of the five types of societies – justice-nonmaterialistic, status, and power-nonmaterialistic. Results cover members’ gains, effects of own rank and group size, and relative gains from killing or enslaving Caesar. Further results suggest that Caesar will be killed only in a justice-nonmaterialistic society, and from the noblest of motives – to achieve equal gains for members.

Keywords: power; status; comparison; justice; sociobehavioral theory; exile; imprisonment; assassination; tyrannicide; regicide; coup d’état; civil strife; identity; happiness; personal qualitative characteristics; hierarchy; equality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D6 I3 N40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: Written 2008-04
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Published in: Advances in Group Processes, 2008, 25, 327-343

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