Robert E. Howard’s pulp fiction does not appear to be the stalwart stronghold of libertarianism that one would expect from an Ayn Rand or L. Neil Smith. Nevertheless, writing in Texas when the Wild West was a living memory, not a history book, Howard found plenty of material for his fantasies. The battles of the Aquilonians and the Picts were an odd Old World confection of cowboys and Indians.
The American values of small government and individual freedom have very little to do with Conan’s lax attitude towards property, usually appropriated after cleaving a few skulls. However, as King Of Aquilonia, Conan employed his own brand of statecraft, as he explains to Amalrus, King of Ophir, Strabonus, King of Koth and Tsotha the Wizard as he stands chained and defeated in their hall.
From ‘The Scarlet Citadel’ by Robert E. Howard.
I found Aquilonia in the grip of a pig like you – one who traced his genealogy for a thousand years. The land was torn with the wars of the barons and the people cried out under suppression and taxation. Today no Aquilonian noble dares maltreat the humblest of my subjects, and the taxes of my people are lighter than anywhere else in the world.
What of you? Your brother, Amalrus, hold the eastern half of your kingdom and defies you. And you, Strabonus, your soldiers are even now besieging castles of a dozen or more rebellious barons. The people of both your kingdoms are crushed into the earth by tyrannous taxes and levies, And you would loot mine -ha! Free my hands and I’ll varnish this floor with your brains!
May all those who raise taxes share the same fate!
This reminds me of perhaps the single most popular reason why dynasties in China were overthrown in the past by popular revolt: Taxes.
Louis Cha commented on this in his novel “Duke of Mount Deer” when the ruling emperor received a single piece of advice from his father. “Yong Bu Jia Fu”, ie. do not raise taxes, if he wanted to maintain prosperity and stability.
The Wobbly Guy
John Milius, who spent years working to get Conan to the screen, tells a wonderful anecdote about Howard, who was apparently loony as a bedbug. He believed the people in his town were going to come and get him, presumably bearing pitchforks and flaming torches. Anyway, he claims he wrote Conan the Barbarian under pain of death when Conan himself appeared in his study and told him to write it all down. Terrified, he worked all night without cease until at daybreak he fell exhausted to the floor. But Conan returned each night until he had finished the great tale.
I think we can conclude Conan was an autrhoritarian…
I recently got my old Conan books out of a box in the basement and gave them to my 11 year old son to read. He loves them. In a couple years I’ll move him up to Robert Heinlein. Both should be required reading for all boys.
Conan and Heinlein, definitely required reading. Too much pussification of males nowadays, me thinks.
Throw in some H. Beam Piper and James Schmitz. Piper has the saving of a sapient race through the court system (!) on a frontier world, and Schmitz has stories that could have been written in the last couple of decades… except that they’re at least twice that old. (He is not afraid to have strong characters, male and female, and protagonists who are not what you’d expect…)
Yeah, 10, 11 — great age for reading Howard, suicide writer though he was; and graduating to Heinlein next. Worked for me.
Conan’s actually great — big, strong, winner; but smart. And extremely chivalrous to women, as well as being quite attractive & successful.
Didn’t Robin Hood steal from the rich TAX COLLECTORS to give to the poor TAX PAYERS?