Mr. Potter is basically right about George Bailey. You can’t run a lending business like “a charity ward” — particularly one owned by other people, for whom you act as a fiduciary agent. If Bailey gave away money to anyone who asked, he would bankrupt the place. No matter how much profit Bailey selflessly chooses to leave on the table, it isn’t enough to build infinite houses for free. And that’s the first clue as to what is really happening here: George Bailey doesn’t bankrupt the Building & Loan. In fact, he somehow pulls it through the Great Depression (which, in the real world, sank Building and Loan Associations as a category — more on that later) and his large family lives simply but comfortably…..

His sovereignty doesn’t compete with theirs — it’s precisely because he is in charge that they are able to hold on to their own dominions. This is why the archetypal connection between the righteousness of the king and the health of the land is so resonant and intuitive.