> That would be Nietzsche's and Hegel's asses.
>
> Really, where else would it come from? Was there some kind of radical break
> in history?
>
> Hmm. "All people are ultimately equal." Where have I heard that before...
Were beliefs like this more widespread in mediaeval Europe than other premodern societies? If liberalism and industrialization first formed in India or China, would it be difficult for alternate-universe Asians to discover that Buddhism had been a liberal doctrine all along?