Those holding privileged power never wish to overturn the system that benefits them

Evidence

The internal limit to the exercise of sovereignty arises from the nature of the sovereign power itself. Even a despot exercises his powers in accordance with his character, which is itself moulded by the circumstances under which he lives, including under that head the moral feelings of the time and the society to which he belongs. The Sultan could not, if he would, change the religion of the Mahommedan world, but even if he could do so, it is in the very highest degree improbable that the head of Mahommedanism should wish to overthrow the religion of Mahomet; the internal check on the exercise of the Sultan’s power is at least as strong as the external limitation. People sometimes ask the idle question, why the Pope does not introduce this or that reform? The true answer is that a revolutionist is not the kind of man who becomes a Pope, and that the man who becomes a Pope has no wish to be a revolutionist. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 964

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

• XREF: Dicey’s internal/external limits on sovereignty — parallels the Brahmin elite self-interest argument in the following paragraph.

Related

• Power can be increased only when its own overthrow is institutionalized (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Power cannot self-realize but depends on societal-structural conditions for legitimacy #expands (0.80) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 743