Has government ever played a truly significant role in historical events, or does it mostly rubberstamp things that nongovernmental entities would do anyway?
After all, Manorialism was a social safety net very similar to the modern welfare state. As an example, was the transition ftom feudalism to liberalism a key event in world history, or were the freedoms serfs won gradual change that mostly had to do with economic and demographic factors unrelated to politics?