On Tue, 13 Apr 2004, Chris Doss wrote:
>
> --A tenative hypothesis: politeness and respect are integral
> to the survival of brutal, coercive social systems.
>
> Miles
> --
> My guess - no. Plantation economy. Landed gentry. Traditions of
> aristocracy. Doesn't "sir" derive from "sire"?
>
umm--that's my point: aristocracy (and the brutal inequalities inherent to any caste system) depends on formal, ritualized patterns of politeness and respect.
Miles