@birdulon@Moon@ic3l9@teratology their authority finally ends when the catastrophic economic failure overtakes their control (as happened with several of those news orgs, as is happening slowly with the american imperium right now.)
you can get away with a lot if people think it keeps them fed/safe but when they learn they have neither you get guillotined. then we pretend the replacement will never again be this decadent and, rip, the wheel of samsara continues.