In a Hobbesian sense, when does Joffrey lose his right to rule? Is it when he shoots crossbows at the public, removing his status as the person preventing a return to the state nature, in bringing back the constant fear of death from anywhere? Or is it more the case that he never loses it, but merely grants the people overthrowing him the right of self-preservation, had they managed to lynch him during the Riot?

I don’t know if there’s one single event, but certainly between shooting starving subjects and touching off the riot. In essence, he becomes not a necessary restraining force on the violence inherent in human nature, but a force that’s actively encouraging violence. 

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