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On the other hand, those things predate the distinction between the state and the leader, so in a way they were also the whim of some wealthy elite.


The ancient Egyptians had a fairly sophisticated state with a permanent bureaucracy. That’s how they had the capacity to organize the construction of the pyramids in the first place.


Yes but if the Pharaoh decided he wanted a golden chariot made out of the state treasury, would someone complain that's the state's gold, not the Pharaoh's gold?




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