It was a symbol of society's struggle with arbitrary authority and the evolution from one stage in society to another. (blog.politics.ox.ac.uk)
Jesus acknowledged that, among the Gentiles, it was common that the great should lord it over the rest and the rulers should exercise arbitrary authority. (religion-online.org)
Scientific education is part of that heritage, fostering the «spiritual values of humanism» by teaching the habit of questioning arbitrary authority. (firstthings.com)