Mandate of Heaven

The ancient Chinese dynasties had the Mandate of Heaven. It meant that their governing of China was smiled upon by the heavens. The concept wasn’t localized in Asia. Western Europe had the Divine Right of Kings, where the king was God’s choice to rule the people. Before you laugh at previous generation’s superstitions, we still have a similar concept. We call it the Will of the People. Because the majority of voters vote for someone, they stand for the entire country.

What all of these concepts do is create buy-in for the government. People who don’t believe in the concept are ostracized and there’s insurgency is less likely to foment. It’s not a mark that the leader actually has a god’s voice in his ear.

The Mandate of Heaven, the Divine Right of Kings, and the Will of the People are polite fictions we maintain to keep an orderly society. If they are abused, people will stop believing them.

It’s like fiat currency. Belief in the dollar keeps the global economy running smoothly. But if that currency is abused by printing money, people’s faith will wane and trust will disappear.