Time to get rid of the Monarchy?

[EnglishEdward]

We all ignored it very easily playing 10:2 chess in the pub last night.

And you can always read a book, do the gardening or watch an old film.

Biggest impact on me is the kids will likely get a day off school if the funeral is on a week day.

 

[Kyriakos]

The electricity bill crisis should have been taken into account, since this type of excess of pomp won't gain the royals more fans, but it can enrage those who were indifferent or mildly against them.

 

[Gorbles]

It is more about showing bad analogies and unproved premises taken as granted .

Ah yes, the morality of slavery, that great unproven premise

I am aware the gotcha here is "but it has been proven and the other thing hasn't". My point is, like slavery, you don't know need to show your working. Except to satisfy pedantry, I guess

 

[EnglishEdward]

@ Kyriakos

Horses and carriages and funeral processions of walking dignitaries etc etc don't use that much electricity.

 

[Kyriakos]

@ Kyriakos

Horses and carriages and funeral processions of walking dignitaries etc etc don't use that much electricity.

Sure, but time allotted passes for all, naturally it will coincide with the problems of the little people.

 

[Zardnaar]

@ Kyriakos

Horses and carriages and funeral processions of walking dignitaries etc etc don't use that much electricity.

Gas powered horses in Greece. In NZ we call them "cars".

 

[Kyriakos]

I thought you run on sheep's learned fear of NZ man

 

[Zardnaar]

I thought you run on sheep's learned fear of NZ man

Velcro gloves. Just saying.

 

[Snorrius]

They are not Russian lands. They're just not. Russia already has recognized borders. It just doesn't accept them. As soon as Russia does, this problem dissolves. (And Russia is still the biggest country in the world – remains to be seen if the Russians are actually numerous and competent to hold it together even – not a given. Russia needs more land and captive populations like a fisk needs a bicycle.)

Well, I can only reiterate that if we talk about genuine liberal transformation, then (and I agree with you) it would imply strong nationalist trend. And it is not given that liberal nationalist Russia would accept its "recognized borders". We have in Russia nationalist liberal thinkers and, basically, their consensus is that while restoring "Soviet Union" or "Russian Empire" is certainly out of question, Russia should get back territories which were transferred to Ukraine and Kazakhstan under Soviets.

Now, my personal opinion is that this kind of genuine liberal transformation is just impossible. First, is that it implies a nation-building in 19th century sense, and in these days it is something close to LARPing. Second, liberalism implies the idea of strong so called "middle class", and the way world economy goes, due to technical advances, problems with resources and cultural shifts, it is being decimated. If anything, I'd say China and Singapore shows us the future (maybe not very rosy though).

 

[AmazonQueen]

David Hare has written an interesting article on Elizabeth's legacy New Britain same as the old one

 

[Arakhor]

I read that on the Guardian, yes. Another article commented briefly on the Swedish monarchy - King Carl Gustaf is not the head of the Swedish church, does not assent to legislation and the Swedish prime minister is instead confirmed by the Speaker of the Riksdag. There's more than one way to crown a monarch, after all.

 

[Kyriakos]

On the positive side, at least it will put to rest the theory that the queen was an immortal reptilian shapeshifter who would continue in this role for another decade. The last part is no longer supportable.

 

[EnglishEdward]

I read the David Hare article.

I am not surprised at the editor's notes:

Editor's note: The opinions in this article are the author's, as published by our content partner, and do not represent the views of MSN or Microsoft.

He states his own set of personal beliefs were shared by others.

Anyone who hoped to see Britain advance its imperfect democracy into something fairer and more idealistic had four principal targets.
We wanted to see nuclear weapons abolished. We wanted to see the House of Lords abolished. We wanted to see private education abolished.
And, as a matter of urgency, we wanted the monarchy abolished.

Other people have other targets.

 

[Verbose]

Well, I can only reiterate that if we talk about genuine liberal transformation, then (and I agree with you) it would imply strong nationalist trend. And it is not given that liberal nationalist Russia would accept its "recognized borders". We have in Russia nationalist liberal thinkers and, basically, their consensus is that while restoring "Soviet Union" or "Russian Empire" is certainly out of question, Russia should get back territories which were transferred to Ukraine and Kazakhstan under Soviets.

Now, my personal opinion is that this kind of genuine liberal transformation is just impossible. First, is that it implies a nation-building in 19th century sense, and in these days it is something close to LARPing. Second, liberalism implies the idea of strong so called "middle class", and the way world economy goes, due to technical advances, problems with resources and cultural shifts, it is being decimated. If anything, I'd say China and Singapore shows us the future (maybe not very rosy though).

Well, if Russia in its present form just means sticking together at the price of autocracy – why is that even an objective?

Even less, why would Ukraine et al. outside Russia in its present form have to be implicated? Unless of course former Soviet republics managing something that Russia may not wasn't a threat to this kind of authoritarian vision of Russia?

All you've done is restate that Russia is stuck and has nowhere to go. This will indubitably be the situation, until something goes unstuck – and from such a point Russia as it currently is might just unwind as well. I don't particularly see that a as good thing, more potential problems. Which means Russia itself finding a way to get unstuck and reform would be preferable.

There are things that can be done by writing good laws, and implementing them in a fair way, that Russia as it is currently is just not doing. There are plenty of things that could be tried, if Russia only did them. What it is doing right now – be it the bizarre focus on LGBT and narratives of western decadence, and imperialistic military adventurism outside Russia – looks mostly like societal self-harm.

 

[Kyriakos]

Please, for the love of king and country, don't turn this thread also into a Russia-bashing one
This is the german royals bashing thread

 

[Zardnaar]

Please, for the love of king and country, don't turn this thread also into a Russia-bashing one
This is the german royals bashing thread

Deviant inbred Germans.

 

[Arakhor]

Charles is much more Greek than he is German.

 

[Kyriakos]

Charles is much more Greek than he is German.

Glücksburg are also germanic, though, much like Saxe-Gotha-Coburg.
He's not exactly a direct descendant of the Komnenoi or the Palaiologoi.

Trivia: his grandfather, Andrew, would have been executed for treasonous acts in the Greek-Turkish war, but of course the british royals intervened and the sentence became a meaningless "life in exile" in the comfort of castles in England.

 

[Arakhor]

I'm not a direct descendent of William the Conqueror or Edward III, but I am almost certainly descended from them in some fashion. Time makes us all related in the end.

 

[Kyriakos]

I'm not a direct descendent of William the Conqueror or Edward III, but I am almost certainly descended from them in some fashion. Time makes us all related in the end.

That's pretty weak for a claim to divine right to rule - or be permanently funded by the public