Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Tyranny? Your ignorance of European politics is hilarious. You've been successfully brainwashed.
His ignorance and lack of knowledge on the subject is astounding, but many here spout the same nonsensical rhetoric because they "know all".
As others have stated knobby, CONSTITUTIONAL monarchies in Europe have popular support. If 75% of British citizens want to keep the monarchy, how is their presence undemocratic? If the opposite were true, there would be a referendum and the transition to a republic would occur peacefully.
I don't care for the monarchy myself, but having lived in the US for several years, I WOULD NOT want a US -presidential style system in the UK. I would rather keep our existing head of state and our parliamentary system. At the very least, it's a good rubber stamp.
You can also google how EU countries with constitutional monarchies are some of the least corrupt countries in the world. Food for thought.
In my country, only the Queen and the Crown Prince receive a royal allowance. They're not obscenely wealthy and they perform important ceremonial functions.
It's kind of ironic to hear an American complaining about an elite class having so much money because of hereditary privilege, as if the exact same doesn't happen in the US to a much greater extent At least the royal family serves a public interest.
There's hereditary privilege in America in the same way that there is in practically every society that has ever existed. I will pass on whatever wealth I accumulate over the course of my lifetime to my children, because that's what I want to do. That is what very wealthy people also usually do here.
However, there is no state-sanctioned royal class in America and that is something that Americans don't have the psychology to accept. I can understand, however, that the citizens of some countries might want that kind of arrangement for cultural reasons. But I don't get why people (such as in the U.K.) automatically accept that this class will be so much wealthier than the average citizen. It's like you automatically accept your inferior hereditary status - that would be very anti-American, to say the least.
Nobody 'automatically' accepts anything, people here are not born with the instinct that they are inferior - people here like the monarchy, they want to retain the monarchy, it is not something that we are unable to change, nobody wants to change it, that is as simple as I can put it, and it works very well for us. If the monarchy was removed against the will of the people, that would be the most undemocratic thing.
There's hereditary privilege in America in the same way that there is in practically every society that has ever existed. I will pass on whatever wealth I accumulate over the course of my lifetime to my children, because that's what I want to do. That is what very wealthy people also usually do here.
However, there is no state-sanctioned royal class in America and that is something that Americans don't have the psychology to accept. I can understand, however, that the citizens of some countries might want that kind of arrangement for cultural reasons. But I don't get why people (such as in the U.K.) automatically accept that this class will be so much wealthier than the average citizen. It's like you automatically accept your inferior hereditary status - that would be very anti-American, to say the least.
In European constitutional monarchies, the royal family is not considered 'superior' in the way you're assuming. Being part of the royal family is considered as much an obligation as a privilege. The royal family should be wealthier than the average citizen because this is partly how they derive their (international) status. Besides, they bring in much more money than they are paid (in terms of tourism and business deals) so it's not a cost to society.
There's nothing anti-American about accepting hereditary privilege, it's widespread in your society to a much greater extent than almost anywhere else. It's why private schools and Ivy League Universities are so popular, it's why there's so much opposition to raising taxes on the rich, it's why expensive privatized health care still exists, it's why there are so many loopholes to avoid the estate tax, etc. Wealthy people send their children to prestigious schools, provide them with the best health care and leave them a ton of money in barely taxed trust funds when they die. Any attempt to break this pattern and 'spread the wealth' a bit is labeled "socialism" and being a socialist is the epitome of anti-Americanism.
Nobody 'automatically' accepts anything, people here are not born with the instinct that they are inferior - people here like the monarchy, they want to retain the monarchy, it is not something that we are unable to change, nobody wants to change it, that is as simple as I can put it, and it works very well for us. If the monarchy was removed against the will of the people, that would be the most undemocratic thing.
Speak for yourself. There are plenty of people that believe the monarchy should go.
With Her Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this weekend, the British public’s support for the country remaining a monarchy is at a record high level according to Ipsos MORI’s special Diamond Jubilee poll. Eight in ten (80%) British adults favour Britain remaining a monarchy compared to 13% that want to see it becoming a republic.
While the economies of Western Europe and Japan were decimated for up to 2 decades following 1945, the USA prospered. Perhaps America saved its own ass by getting involved following the Great Depression? Food for thought.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Your ignorance of European politics is hilarious. You've been successfully brainwashed.
At least the royal family serves a public interest.