Thompson 1

Malik Thompson

Trishia Briones

ENGL 1302-261

19 April 2023

Monarchy as a Form of Government

Government is the reflection of human nature, and there are many forms of governmental

systems that all have their own benefits and disadvantages. Democracy, monarchy, and

totalitarianism are all forms of governance with distinct differences. Democracy is when the

leaders are elected by the people and are mostly normal citizens. It is characterized by free and

mostly fair elections, rule of law, protection of civil liberties, and equal rights for all citizens. On

the other hand, Monarchy is led by a King or Queen, but can also be constitutional with a

parliament.The monarch usually inherits the position and has absolute power over the state.

Totalitarianism, on the other hand, is a form of government where the state has complete control

over all aspects of society, including the economy, media, and individual freedoms. It is

characterized by a single party rule, strict control over the citizens, and the absence of political

opposition. In summary, democracy is based on the principles of popular sovereignty, monarchy

is based on inherited power, and totalitarianism is based on the complete control of the state.

Monarchy is the strongest and most flexible of these three systems of rule. It promotes fluid

change, and advancement and has a central figure for the people and government to rally behind.

Monarchy is a form of government with a monarch as its central leader and head of state.

Kings, emperors, queens, sultans, and tsars/tsarinas are the heads of these various states along
 Thompson 2

with many others. Monarchy can be split into many subgroups, all with their own benefits and

negatives. For example, the unity that a monarch brings through their image, or the efficiency of

government proceedings as opposed to the gridlock of a system like democracy. Constitutional

monarchy is a more recent experiment where the royalty, and the republicans (those who support

a republic or constitutional form of government) compete for power and eventually come to an

agreement to share the authority in decision making. “The contemporary European constitutional

monarch as a ceremonial head of state who reigns but does not govern arises as a special case of

the general model.” (Tridimas 431). Tridimas is speaking on the constitutional monarchy of the

United Kingdom in which the recently passed queen held little power when compared to

Elizabeth I who died only a few decades prior to the downfall of the English crown. “It should be

noted that 44 of the 193 United Nations member states are still monarchies today”

(Langewiesche 282). This shows that Monarchy is still very present and popular in the 21st

century. Garmann used this statistic in his study where he writes, “Until the beginning of the 20th

century, monarchy was the predominant constitutional form and is still in place today in many

countries” (186). When looking at how influential having a central figure is in governance, it is

clear to see that Monarchy wins in this race. A perpetual royal drama, with scandals and gossip

will keep the eyes of the people on one leader rather than the hundreds of important figures in

Democracy.

Democracy

Democracy has risen in power over the past few centuries, but it has its roots in antiquity

in the form of athens. Athens was an open civil society, and Sparta was a closed one. Athens was

democratic, and Sparta was ruled by a select few. These two powers coexisted with each other
 Thompson 3

for many centuries. These two city-states are a prime example of the contrast of a totalitarian

state and a democratic state that can be viewed with other countries closer to the modern day,

The United States of America and China, a Democracy and a Totalitarian State coexisting. As

mentioned above Madison saw government as a reflection of human nature. “The state of nature

is a state of anarchy and people can live better under some kind of order” (Przeworski 18).

Democracy depends on the people to work together for the greater good of the community

around them and humans have relied on this teamwork from the very beginning with hunting

parties to track and surround a(n) beast. It is only natural that this would evolve into democracy

with the advent of society and civilization. Looking at contemporary democracy when it comes

to the United States, the idealized utopia of democracy cannot be seen, and the negatives of

democracy are being seen with every major election, but so are the positives. “Should elections

take the intensity of a voter's feelings into consideration?” (Puckett 640). This question of

electoral theory would have great implications on democratic institutions if it were emplaced,

and these effects could be seen as positive or negative depending on the point of view of the

voter. This is one of the issues of the democratic vote in a republic, whether each individual truly

deserves a vote, or whether the individual truly has control over the society. This can lead to a

freeze of the government system where nothing can get done due to months, and possible years

of argument over issues.

Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism has received a well deserved stigma in the past few centuries despite

being the most dominant form of government throughout history. “Resource-rich dictatorships

are more inclined to repress civil society than others” (Breyels, Grigoriadis). Countries that have
 Thompson 4

access to vast amounts of natural resources such as China or Russia are more inclined to

totalitarianism. This leadership system attempts to assert control over every individual under

their domain, is ruled by a select few in a one-party state, and relies on military might to control

their populace. “Totalitarianism thus reflected fears of the military and ideological threat that

emanated from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union” (Joscelyne 242). This is the misconception

of Totalitarianism among the majority who instantly think of the negatives and the most

prominent nations that have used this form of government without looking at the internal and

external factors that make these countries the way they are. China is a contemporary totalitarian

state that despite missteps in the process losing millions of their population, they have become

the supreme economic and military powerhouse in the world next to the United States. “The

greater the importance of the central state as a source of prestige and advantage, the less likely it

is that those in power…will accept rules of the game that institutionalize party conflict and could

result in the turnover of those in office.” (Pei 5). The question on why China has not become

democratic after so much economic growth is a complicated one to answer as it has broken the

pattern of nations. Take Britain for example, who after once being a colony of the Roman

Empire, and conquered by the Normans became a powerful island monarchy with a developing

economy that eventually led to the people gaining voting power and parliament. China has had a

similar history of war, conflict, and revolution, but has remained authoritarian. So the pattern and

correlation with democracy and economy seems to be invalid with China in the equation.One of

the pros of totalitarianism is rapid change. The one-party state just like monarchy has a lot less

friction when it comes to policy change and can potentially force change when needed. The cons

of course are the lack of individual freedoms in most of these societies.

 Thompson 5

After examining the three forms of government, the most powerful one is Monarchy. This

system of control has persisted for centuries in many different ways and has transformed to

survive. The ailing corpse of democracy can be seen around the world with the French people

constantly rioting in the streets when their votes are ignored, to the United States that has not

been truly united for some time and instead drag around any meaningful change for decades.

Even in the totalitarian states where the government owns all for the peoples benefit, are often

sick and spread thin, resorting to military force to exert their power on the people. It is important

to note that the effectiveness of a government depends on a variety of factors such as the cultural

and social context, the needs and values of the citizens, and the historical and economic

conditions of a country. While some argue that monarchy provides stability and continuity, others

argue that it can also perpetuate inequality and restrict individual freedom, but with the economic

and social growth seen across the world under monarchy it is obvious that this is simply not true.

Conclusion

When it comes to humans and government many forms of government are at play and are

constantly considered by the populace. It is the reflection of Human nature and has been since

the beginning of civilization. There are pros and cons to each of the discussed forms of

government. Democracy gives the power to the individual, although sometimes participation

may be lackluster and some may be too emotionally involved in their vote. Monarchy is able to

unite the people far more easily under a political figure and can rile the populace to participate in

demonstrations, and policies, but are often heavily taxed to provide for the royalty. Totalitarian

governments can implement rapid change and force these changes into action, but are often

forceful with putting down opposition and are not normally challenged due to the leadership
 Thompson 6

being so ingrained in keeping their positions of power and the people wanting to rise by keeping

their heads down. Humans are complicated social creatures and all opinions on governance are

subjective and will never be agreed upon due to people having their own ideas and ambitions.

There are eight billion people on the Earth and as the population increases there is no doubt that

many governments will change to counteract external pressures. Although this is true, Monarchy

has centuries of written record to show its pedigree in being consistently strong and resourceful

even when humans were less tolerant and more barbaric.

 Thompson 7

Works Cited

Acemoglu, Daron, et al. “Democracy Does Cause Growth.” Journal of Political Economy, vol.

127, no. 1, Feb. 2019, pp. 47–100. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1086/700936.

Adam Przeworski. Democracy and the Limits of Self-Government. Cambridge University Press,

2010. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=e000xna&AN=32937

7&authtype=sso&custid=s9609537&scope=site.

Betzig, Laura. “But What Is Government Itself but the Greatest of All Reflections on Human

Nature?” Politics and the Life Sciences, vol. 28, no. 2, 2009, pp. 102–05. JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40588007. Accessed 24 Feb. 2023.

Breyel, Corinna, and Theocharis N. Grigoriadis. “Civil Society, Natural Resources and

Dictatorship.” Eurasian Geography and Economics, vol. 62, no. 2, 2020, pp. 131–155.,

https://doi.org/10.1080/15387216.2020.1759438.

Garmann, Sebastian. “God Save the Queen, God Save Us All? Monarchies and Institutional

Quality.” Scottish Journal of Political Economy, vol. 65, no. 2, May 2018, pp. 186–204.

EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1111/sjpe.12154.

Hans W. Blom, et al. Monarchisms in the Age of Enlightenment : Liberty, Patriotism, and the

Common Good. University of Toronto Press, 2007. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=e000xna&AN=68251

2&authtype=sso&custid=s9609537&scope=site.
 Thompson 8

Joscelyne, Sophie. “Norman Mailer and American Totalitarianism in the 1960s.” Modern

Intellectual History, vol. 19, no. 1, 2022, pp. 241–267.,

doi:10.1017/S1479244320000323.

Pei, Minxin. "China: Totalitarianism's Long Shadow." Journal of Democracy, vol. 32, no. 2,

2021, pp. 5-21. ProQuest,

https://go.openathens.net/redirector/tamiu.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-j

ournals/china-totalitarianisms-long-shadow/docview/2520226924/se-2.

Puckett, Kent. “Democracy.” Victorian Literature and Culture, vol. 46, no. 3-4, 2018, pp.

640–645., doi:10.1017/S1060150318000451.

Tridimas, George. "Constitutional Monarchy as Power Sharing." Constitutional Political

Economy, vol. 32, no. 4, 2021, pp. 431-461. ProQuest,

https://go.openathens.net/redirector/tamiu.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-j

ournals/constitutional-monarchy-as-power-sharing/docview/2585232586/se-2,

doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10602-021-09336-8