No gods, no kings.
A king can’t be “down to earth” by definition. Royalty is fundamentally incompatible with a democratic and equitable society.
The royalty of Scandinavia is arguably the most people-friendly “rulers” in the world. And I say “rulers” because they don’t really have much power or influence over the people in the form of “my word is law”, in contrast to a lot of other rulers of countries.
I understand where “no gods no kings” come from, but it’s not incompatible with a democratic society if you take a proper look at how it functions in Scandinavia: Norway is in fact number one on the Economist Democracy Index (followed closely by the rest of the Nordic countries), and the royalty don’t have the capacity to go on a power trip:
The King does not, by convention, have direct participation in government. He ratifies laws and royal resolutions, receives and sends envoys from and to foreign countries, and hosts state visits. He has a more tangible influence as the symbol of national unity.
Harald’s leadership during Norwegian national crises, such as the New Year’s Day Storm (1992), the July 2011 massacre, the 2020 Gjerdrum landslide, and particularly the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2020 to March 2022), was met with both national and international acclaim. He was popularly known among the Norwegian public as a “grandfather of the nation”. Harald was also known for being down-to-earth and his sense of humour. He was an outdoorsman who participated in skiing, hunting, and fishing. Harald described his life in Norway as “normal”, attending movies, travelling without paparazzi surrounding him, and wearing casual attire while sailing, with citizens who were equally laid back about having a monarchy.
The royalty of Scandinavia is arguably the most people-friendly
Probably true, yeah, but royalty is still an inherently extremely privileged and wasteful institution that has no business existing in a modern democratic society.
it’s not incompatible with a democratic society if you take a proper look at how it functions in Scandinavia
Speaking as a Scandinavian, that’s dead wrong. It’s a collective blind spot amongst an otherwise egalitarian populace, but it’s completely archaic, extremely wasteful, and goes against every governing principle we otherwise live by.
Norway is in fact number one on the Economist Democracy Index
Norway is a country with a shitload of oil, hardly any people, and a tradition of social democratic governments. THAT’S why they manage to be rich and economically equal in general in SPITE of lugging around a monarchy like a figurative lead weight.
followed closely by the rest of the Nordic countries
Again: because of social democratic governments, and in spite of royalty.
and the royalty don’t have the capacity to go on a power trip:
True, their power is almost entirely symbolic, but they’re still a huge economic drain and a ludicrous symbol of unearned privilege.
I have a different perspective. No one are higher in the social hierarchy than the king. The fact that no one can buy themselves an equal or higher standing is valuable. When the king, like our line of kings, choose to ground themselves, to lift up the value of the ones on the bottom, it sets precedent for other “high status individuals”. It generates stigma for over-indulgence when even the king will abstain. That is if they do their part. Which is the tradition of kings in Norway.
I’m negative to monarchy in general, but in Norway’s case it works. Signed fellow Norwegian