Anonymous asked:
A gauntlet is a piece of armor, used for defense. A better metaphor would be a bludgeon.
You say this, but what happened to those without states capable of enacting powerful force? They were, in general, destroyed.
It is neither the bludgeon, nor the sword, but the armored hand that wields them. The power of the knight, the army, and the sovereign. The power of command, backed by violence. Something we wear or put on.
The state is not so constrained in its capabilities as a sword or bludgeon would imply, but neither is it so gentle, nor does it exist in such a softer world, as an ordinary hand would imply.