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Why did the szlachta consider all of its members politically equal?

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Map showing Poland's territory in 1634 under the reign of Wladyslaw IV Vasa, shaded in pink and spanning from the Baltic Sea in the north to near Kyiv in the southeast. Major present-day cities such as Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Vilnius, Minsk, Lwow (Lviv), Pinsk, and Kyiv are marked within the territory, with surrounding cities like Moscow, Riga, Vienna, and Budapest shown for reference. — Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Poland's territory in 1634, during the reign of Władysław IV Vasa.

The szlachta (gentry) of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth insisted on the absolute political equality of all its members, regardless of their individual wealth or status, ranging from landless yeomen to powerful magnates. This belief was rooted in a form of szlachta democracy inspired by the ideals of ancient Rome, which the nobility viewed as a perfect constitutional model.12

This principle of equality served as the foundation for the liberum veto, a legal right in the Sejm (legislature) that allowed any single deputy to defeat a measure or dissolve the assembly by declaring "Nie pozwalam!" ("I disapprove!"). Because every nobleman was considered politically equal, the system required that all legislation be passed unanimously. Consequently, the szlachta viewed any attempt to centralize power as a threat to their traditional freedoms and equality, leading them to prioritize this individual veto power as a safeguard against potential tyranny.34