Comme il fait toujours laisser aux Francais la douceur d'un peu de license pour les consoler de leur servitude, le gouvenment permet de discuter fort librement toutes de theories generales et abstraites en matiere de religion, de philosophie, de morale, et meme de politique. Il souffre assez volontier qu'on attaques les principes fondamentaux sur lesquels reposait alors la societe, et qu'on discute jusqu'a Dieu meme, pourvu qu'on point sur ses moindres agents. Il se figure que cela ne le regarde pas.
- Alexis de Tocqueville
(Page 95 of L'ancien Regime et la Revolution that I typed out without all the necessary punctuation marks of French.)
Maybe it's because it was late at night, but I felt... downright gloomy...when I read that the powers that be wish to give all of the peasants a little consolation for their servitude by allowing enough free speech to have them waste their time venting about how monarchs ruin their lives. Go on! and discuss religion, philosophy, morality, politics, God, taboo topics, everything in your little town halls and forums - that's the least freedom we can give you for taking everything else from your life.
The mental image I had was of how Jain families smile and say, "Aw, poor babies" as they shave their children's heads, strip them naked, and leave them to live them in the jungle for a decade-long rite of passage. But, as an addendum, yes, modern day despots are kinder, and don't have nearly the same contempt for masses that the French kings used to have.