9 Prominent Advantages and Disadvantages of a Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government where only one person or group rules the entire country. This most often involves a royal family. In this case, the ruler of the country is called a King if they are male and a Queen if they are female. The power over the country stays in this family’s hands, and the chain of command is purely hereditary. Having all of the power laying in the hands of one person can be a very slippery slope, but it can also greatly benefit the country if the ruler has good intentions. The ruler isn’t the only determining factor in a monarchy however, there are many good and bad things that can come from a country being ran by a monarchy type of government.
The Advantages of a Monarchy
1. Decisions Are Fast Tracked
Any decisions that are made within a monarchy can be made and implemented very quickly. This is because there is not a long line of bureaucrats that new ideas must go through. The ruler can simply make the decision, and it is done.
2. High Amount of Respect
Monarchies typically have very deep rooted and long lasting traditions. Children parents, grandparents, and even great grandparents are ruled underneath the same family. The family becomes an icon of the country and the people have very high levels of respect for them.
3. Significantly Less Corruption
Rulers of a monarchy are not concerned about fulfilling their agendas in a small amount of time. This is because they will be in power until the day that they die, which can be many many decades. They do not feel the need to use corrupt tactics to fulfill their desires, because they know that they have plenty of time to accomplish these things.
4. Stability For The Country
Having a leader that you can respect, and that you know is in it for the long haul, gives comfort to many citizens of countries that use monarchies. It provides a stability for the people as well as the economy.
The Disadvantages of a Monarchy
1. No Change of Power
Not everyone is perfect, or even nice, and this is including people that may be put in power over monarchies. If a bad person was ruling, there would be no way to remove them from the position. The people of the country would simply have to wait out their rule until the day that they die, and even then, the power would remain in the same family.
2. No Checks and Balances
Checks and balances refer to the varying levels of power within a government, whose main purpose is to monitor each other. This is to ensure that nothing harmful or corrupt happens within the country. In a monarchy, there are no checks and balances, only one person who makes all of the decisions. There is no one to stop something bad from happening or being implemented.
3. Royalty Is Not A Qualification
A hereditary chain of command means that the power stays within the family and moves down the family line as each ruler dies. While this takes away any question of who is going to be in power, it does pose one large problem. Simply being born doesn’t make you fit or suited to rule over an entire country and it’s people.
4. The People Have No Say
Monarchy rulers are not chosen by the citizens of the country that is in question. Instead, they are chosen by history. The families that are in power typically have been for many centuries. The power never shifts and the people have no say in that, even though it is their country that is being ruled over.
5. Too Much Power
Have you ever heard of the term “power trip”? I’m sure that Kings and Queens have heard it many times. Giving a single person an extremely excessive amount of power over all of the inner workings of an entire country can go to their head, and quickly.
