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Should the monarchy be abolished? Should the monarchy be abolished?
Yes, we should abolish the monarchy Yes, we should abolish the monarchy
We should reform the monarchy We should reform the monarchy
No, we should keep the monarchy No, we should keep the monarchy
Commonwealth countries should become republics or have their own monarchy Commonwealth countries should become republics or have their own monarchy
The monarchy is wasting valuable taxpayer money The monarchy is wasting valuable taxpayer money
The monarchy is undemocratic The monarchy is undemocratic
The monarchy reinforces the class system in Britain The monarchy reinforces the class system in Britain
The monarchy is an embarrassment and should go The monarchy is an embarrassment and should go
The monarchy must sustainably self-fund The monarchy must sustainably self-fund
The monarchy is a key source of soft power The monarchy is a key source of soft power
The Royals bring in tourists The Royals bring in tourists
The monarchy has cultural value that is worthwhile The monarchy has cultural value that is worthwhile
Commonwealth countries shouldn't have a British monarch as their head of state Commonwealth countries shouldn't have a British monarch as their head of state
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Should the monarchy be abolished?
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Yes, we should abolish the monarchy

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The monarchy is undemocratic

Monarchy is an old model of governance that is goes against the fundamental nature of democracy.
Democracy
Catherine Bennett
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Context

The British Monarchy is hereditary and not selected or checked by the electorate. They also have significant political power, in terms of access to government ministers and officials, as well as the ability to dissolve parliament.

The Argument

The United Kingdom is a democracy. All people in it should have an equal say in how the country is run. The monarchy adversely affects the way we do politics. The institution of the monarchy and the Crown (not the royals themselves) give vast, almost unlimited powers to our politicians. This is a politicians' monarchy - it makes our government far too powerful and allows parliament to ignore the wishes of the people. The Royals get meetings with ministers, and writes letters to politicians which are taken seriously. Their opinion is listened to and can change the way the government acts on policies.This can either mean policies are worse, or not what the public wanted. For instance, focusing on building new aircraft carriers that were not necessary, or putting in restrictions on genetically modified foods. The Queen has significant power in that she has to invite the Prime Minister to form a government, and can reject them. She also has the power to dissolve parliament and call a general election. This is very undemocratic as it allows a single individual to wield huge amounts of power, rather than the people or their elected representatives [1]

Counter arguments

Whilst the Royals could have influence, the training and education they receive makes sure they are highly responsible with it. If the Royals abused their power, then the government would take it away.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Democracy is valuable. [P2] The Monarchy impedes democracy. [P3] We should not support institutions that impede democracy.

Rejecting the premises

Further Reading

https://www.republic.org.uk/what-we-want/monarchy-myth-buster

References

  1. https://www.republic.org.uk/what-we-want/monarchy-myth-buster

In the Wild

This page was last edited on Friday, 20 Mar 2020 at 15:29 UTC

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