I probably shouldn't have gotten into this discussion today, what with the work load I haven't gotten to, but I think you could get a good discussion on many of your points.
As to honesty, only within limits. Absolute honesty is very destructive of society.
You will also get a good argument that rather than streamlining formal etiquette being desirable, enhancing formal etiquette would bring very positive values to society. As just one example, if every driver observed the formal etiquette of politieness and consideration, we would have many fewer accidents and no road rage.
While a heridetary aristocracy may not have a useful function (but England's certainly enhances their tourism industry), some form of aristocracy is, I could well argue, important to a functioning society. A pure democracy is unworkable. And, as Durant has noted in several of his writings, such as in The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time, the admiration and emulation of heros is extremely valuable. (And absolute honesty about those heros is often quite destructive.) |
