Monarchies are one of the oldest forms of government still alive today. The institution provides a solution to many difficult problems that democracies face and is simple to comprehend: a single ruler makes all important decisions and has a predictable successor.
Yet, by definition, a monarchy is a system where the state actively perpetuates inequality by favoring one particular group over all other people. A just government strives for egalitarianism, while monarchy — a system going against the fundamental human right of equality — favors people based on no virtues of their own.
Countless examples of tyrannical monarchies are easy to recall. Ivan “The Terrible” of Russia murdered his own son in a fit of rage and killed thousands when he sacked the city of Novgorod.
King John of England murdered his own nephew, lost Normandy in war with France and forced himself on wives of nobles. Eventually, the barons forced him to sign the Magna Carta, finally placing limits on the king’s power and stopping him from exploiting his power. Progressive change in history has come with the reclaiming of power from terrible monarchs.
Throughout the French Revolution, the Glorious Revolution and the Constitution of Japan, monarchies have gradually lost power to the people. Nowadays, the majority of countries are democracies; however, monarchs haven’t entirely disappeared.
In England, while the royals contribute little political value to the country, the government still funds them through grants that are paid for by taxes on the people, and their wealth is in the hundreds of millions (King Charles has a fortune of about $850 million). A similar system exists in Japan. Still, these symbolic royal families are figureheads that do little real governing.
Although they do host events to “inspire nationalism,” would it not be more appropriate for someone elected by the people to perform this role? They lead charity events to “donate” money to the very people they take their money from, while taking a sizable portion to themselves.
In many countries today, the citizens resist declarations of a new monarchy. This includes the U.S. On Oct. 8, as many as 7 million people made their stances clear when they assembled in big and small cities in “No Kings” protests against Donald Trump’s presidency and leadership style.
The monarchies of old now endure exclusively by force of tradition. The vast majority of countries nowadays have settled on a democracy or constitutional monarchy system, where the monarch holds a ceremonial role with little to no power. Their inherent status stems from nothing but the fact that their ancestors also had this status.
Many royal families possess additional privileges by law above their subjects. The British royals are exempt from obeying over 160 laws, including the 2010 Equality Act and paying income, capital gains or inheritance tax.
The British also have a formal “right” to inspect and request alterations to legislation that could affect them. Autocratic leaders who still wield their dictatorial power rule even more egregiously, with great privilege and wealth over their impoverished communities in countries ranging from small African countries to North Korea.
But where do they get these rights? Again, through monarchy — the state endorses the idea that some are born above others, and the “common” people are the ones forced to pay for these vast budgets. According to the Cambridge University Press, “Monarchy (absolute or constitutional) breaches fundamental moral principles that undergird representative democracy, such as basic moral equality, dignity and desert.”
The system puts some above others by virtue of birth, running completely contrary to modern established human rights that recognize all people as equal. Monarchy is a relic of a time where societies placed divine right above reason and bloodline above merit, and it has no place in any modern society.
