The proposed hierarchy deliberately gives selected people status, advancement, and material advantages worth preserving. Its premise is that populations with a stake in the existing order are more likely to defend it and less likely to rebel. Feudal rulers in Europe, the Ottoman Empire, China, and other societies are cited as historical examples of this calculation. Governance and military logistics therefore meet at the garrison budget: a regime with some local support needs fewer troops than one ruling only through coercion.
Notable Point · 48:39-50:05
Why social stakes reduce garrison costs
People with valued positions and livelihoods are cheaper to govern than subjects with nothing to lose, because legitimacy reduces the force needed to suppress revolt.