Quote: Original post by Ameise

Quote: Original post by Prefect

Quote: Original post by Ameise
stuff

Err... what? What does anything in this thread have to do with a monarchy?

The complaint is that the current regime has difficulty coping with problems which is leading to poor decision-making and bad policy overall. The current leadership has very little reason to do a 'good job' -- they can be voted out for very little reason, and it's often easier to quickly extort a lot of money and then be voted out than do actually do your job well to not be voted out.

Monarchs have a good reason to do a good job because it's "their country"... and they lend a stability not seen in other system as a guiding hand -- it's unlikely that one day the monarch is a liberal and then the next is a conservative. You will get set ideals from the onset, and hopefully laws and policy will follow suit. Good chance many of Germany's problems in the last 20 years could have been avoided if George Friedrich was the Kaiser :)

You're espousing the "monarchy as a solution to the renter problem of democracy" as developed by Hans Hoppe in "Democracy, The God that Failed."

It's a very interesting theory and quite reasonable despite the implications, however, it's quite a bit off topic for what we're discussing.

To try and tie it together, are you saying that you believe the EU would be better served if Germany did consolidate its position as hegemon? And if so, is it fair to say this would lead to a new German Kaiserreich?

For every monarch interested in doing good for their country, history provides three who were not. Monarchy offers a very poor mechanism for transitions of power. Great for literature, terrible for nations.

Another problem with reinstating a monarchy is deciding who gets the job of immortal god-emperor of Germankind (or something like that). Sure, you could trace the lineage back using family trees and suchlike, but its a tricky buisiness and would likely lead to problems. After so many years there will be lots of heirs with similar claims, so how do you choose between them? Civil war? One on one fish-slapping contest? It could bemore hassel than its worth.

Bring back the Habsburgs! I want to see them slap each other with dead fish!!!

Revealed: the inbreeding that ruined the Hapsburgs

You could certainly derive a stronger democratic system from the old Holy Roman Empire... elected monarchs. Possibly only from a higher house akin to the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire (Kurfürsten des Heiligen Römischen Reiches)...

Would hegemony of Germany lead to a Kaiserreich? No. The current Bundesrepublik will likely meet a demise of it's own, as its own structure leads to instability. Similar problems exist in other governments, and unfortunately many times lead to completely unstable dictatorships (with a distinction between monarchy and dictatorship).

Quote: Original post by JamesPenny
who gets the job of immortal god-emperor

Obviously me. Doh.

Elected monarch is self-contradictory, likely a thin excuse for declaring oneself "president for life". The distinction between monarchy and dictatorship is that a monarchy grounds it's sovereignty in religion (the divine right of kings) where a dictatorship grounds it's sovereignty in military power.

Symbolic figurehead monarchies - where actual power resides with parliament - have commendable features. In these situations the monarch can act as the moral conscience of the nation, using his or her bully pulpit to guide the nation towards the betterment of it's subjects/citizens.

Well, you can have a constitutional monarchy. Which is also meh.

Quote: Original post by Yann L

Quote: Original post by JamesPenny
who gets the job of immortal god-emperor

Obviously me. Doh.

If I would have the head of everyone who usurped me, I would reign without a people. So just keep talking. [smile]

Quote: Original post by Wan
Well, you can have a constitutional monarchy. Which is also meh.

I saw that your prince led the skating gold medal celebration in Vancouver. It appears that these days European royalty function as national cheerleaders, or at least in ways similar to pop celebrities over here. That view appears to be supported by this web site: The Royal Forums. On the right side of the that homepage is a list of countries with royal houses. The most popular are British, Belgian, Danish, Dutch, Jordanian and Spanish.