Here's A Thought

[Galloglasses]

Aren't all Christians, and for that manner Jews and Muslims, by definition, ultimately monarchist despite wide ranging political veiws and ideologies held by people of the three Religions? (God is King), Its a thought i've kicked around with. Discuss.

Edited May 26, 2008 by Galloglasses

[CatherineM]

That's an interesting point. I suppose it could pre-dispose us to accepting presidents, queens or prime ministers.

[TeresaBenedicta]

There are two things that every kid coming out of public school in America is likely to have beaten into their brains:

A. Democracy is the best form of government.
B. Capitalism is the best form for economy.

Personally, (and I feel like I'm committing treason even by saying it) I don't think that democracy is the best form of government. In fact, I think it might be pretty low down on the list.

I'd take a monarchy with a good King any day of the week. Unfortunately, it's finding that good king which is the problem...

[Veridicus]

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' post='1544154' date='May 26 2008, 08:48 PM']There are two things that every kid coming out of public school in America is likely to have beaten into their brains:

A. Democracy is the best form of government.
B. Capitalism is the best form for economy.

Personally, (and I feel like I'm committing treason even by saying it) I don't think that democracy is the best form of government. In fact, I think it might be pretty low down on the list.

I'd take a monarchy with a good King any day of the week. Unfortunately, it's finding that good king which is the problem...[/quote]

Well stated. I think democracy would be a very good form of government if people objectively knew what was good for them....of course I suppose similar arguments could be posed for socialism. But since we don't live in a perfect world....

[Deb]

The problem with a monarchy, which always made me want to puke, is that someone would think their "line" should rule forever, that they somehow have ruling genes or something.
Democracy would be fine if it actually worked anymore.

[Socrates]

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' post='1544154' date='May 26 2008, 08:48 PM']There are two things that every kid coming out of public school in America is likely to have beaten into their brains:

A. Democracy is the best form of government.
B. Capitalism is the best form for economy.

Personally, (and I feel like I'm committing treason even by saying it) I don't think that democracy is the best form of government. In fact, I think it might be pretty low down on the list.[/quote]
I'd hardly consider it treason. The founding fathers despised democracy.
Said James Madison, the Father of the Constitution: "Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths."

Not sure about capitalism being so universally extolled in public schools, though. Unless there's been a recent change, public school kids are often taught a fair amount of lefty socialistic drivel.

[Alycin]

[quote name='Socrates' post='1544325' date='May 26 2008, 11:06 PM']Not sure about capitalism being so universally extolled in public schools, though. Unless there's been a recent change, public school kids are often taught a fair amount of lefty socialistic drivel.[/quote]

False. There has been no recent change and your statement is still false. Do you just make stuff up as you go along?

[IrishSalesian]

[quote name='Deb' post='1544285' date='May 26 2008, 11:50 PM']The problem with a monarchy, which always made me want to puke, is that someone would think their "line" should rule forever, that they somehow have ruling genes or something.
Democracy would be fine if it actually worked anymore.[/quote]

I think some of the later Roman Emperors had it down right. They would choose their successor, and raise them, have them educated, so as to be the best emperor they could be. They would train the person to be emperor that way they would have a competent ruler. Not some loon walking around with power to be wielded.

[Galloglasses]

The problem with the Roman Emperors was that their pretorians, the bodygaurds, had a nasty habit of assasinating an unpopular Emperor and set the throne up to the highest bidder.

To be honest, I don't particularly like democracy either, it is far easier to corrupt then monarchies. And the impression most of us have in our heads about monarchies being unworkable and somehow immoral is down to a century or two of Pro-Democratic propaganda in popular media and schools. (I study politics, believe me, Governments do this sort of stuff for kicks), When in reality none of us even know what living in a non democratic society is even like. By the way, i'm not advocating monarchy, that system had its flaws too.

[picchick]

I believe that we all have a basis in monarchism. I think the thought behind it is that the people need someone to rule over them because they wanted something tangible.

For example, in the Jewish times, the Children of God had a theocracy. But they wanted something tangible that they could see and touch and this lead to the monarchism of King Saul.

No government is perfect that is for sure unless it is a theocracy. I think that if we had a good monarch who was not going to turn out selfish in the end then it would be fine. But I think that it would be the case with every form of government minus communism.

I think that the Romans was more of a dictatorship.....at least by the sounds of it.

Monarchism is not a dictatorship just as an fyi. I think too many people think of it that way.

[fides quarens intellectum]

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' post='1544154' date='May 26 2008, 08:48 PM']There are two things that every kid coming out of public school in America is likely to have beaten into their brains:

A. Democracy is the best form of government.
B. Capitalism is the best form for economy.[/quote]

oy. but we don't live in a democracy, and our economy is not strictly capitalist.

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' post='1544154' date='May 26 2008, 10:48 PM']There are two things that every kid coming out of public school in America is likely to have beaten into their brains:

A. Democracy is the best form of government.
B. Capitalism is the best form for economy.[/quote]

I'd say democracy and capitalism are the most mediocre forms of government and economy. They aren't especially great in any particular area, but they aren't terribly horrible either, and it's the middle ground between tyrrany and anarchy, and the freedom that can be enjoyed versus being ruled by monopolistic robber barons or the Communist system. Democracy (actually republicanism is technically what most "democracies" are, since we elect representatives to vote on legislation) prevents too few people from gaining too much political power and capitalism drives the selfish profit motive towards benefiting the common good. Both use selfish ambition, and they only work because people are selfish, rather than trying to work against our selfishness and change our hearts. That work is best left to God.

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' post='1544154' date='May 26 2008, 10:48 PM']I'd take a monarchy with a good King any day of the week. Unfortunately, it's finding that good king which is the problem...[/quote]

Yeah... if it weren't for that one little problem, monarchies would be great.

If we weren't selfish, we wouldn't need political systems to begin with.

[Galloglasses]

We kinda would. Selfishness is not responsible for our inability to function as as society without the need for personal gain in and of itself. Even if we weren't selfish, we'd need a government to manage stuff.

[LouisvilleFan]

Maybe so... but it would be very different, to say the least. Of course, we're treading into [i]Perelandra[/i] territory here.

Edited May 27, 2008 by LouisvilleFan

[LivingStone]

What's wrong with communism?



....jk.....

Just for the record, I was kidding to the max.