# Selling Commissions

A little while ago this blog published a post summarising Plato’s [arguments
against books and writing](/lately/1999-11-06_arguments.html). A seemingly
indefensible position, you’d think—but Plato had a few more arguments in favour
of this than I would have thought.

In a similar way, I recently came across a Wikipedia article on the
[sale of Army
commissions](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sale_of_commissions). Until
1800 or so, most European armies allowed the purchase of ranks–and the
British Army in particular was especially keen on this system. Again, it
seems that this system would have little to recommend it, but Wikipedia
advises:

- It preserved the social exclusivity of the officer class.
- It served as a form of collateral against abuse of authority or
  gross negligence or incompetence. Disgraced officers could be
  cashiered by the crown (that is, stripped of their commission
  without reimbursement).
- It ensured that the officer class was largely populated by persons
  having a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, thereby
  reducing the possibility of Army units taking part in a revolution
  or coup.
- It ensured that officers had private means and were unlikely to
  engage in looting or pillaging, or to cheat the soldiers under their
  command by engaging in profiteering using army supplies.
- It provided honourably retired officers with an immediate source of
  capital.

How common was it for commissions to be awarded on merit?