An American (Constitutional) Monarchy May Not Be a Bad Idea
The Premise Might Be Outdated, But the Benefits Aren’t
Don’t get me wrong, there are many things that are problematic when it comes to a monarchy. As someone who is committed to fairness and equality, spending millions of dollars each year so that one family can live lavishly is not something that appeases my eye. Moreover, monarchies are often a symbol of absolute power and create flashbacks to the days of imperialism; some elements of a monarchial society still bleed imperialism and colonization (ie. the Dutch monarchy’s Golden Carriage). Yet, if those millions of dollars could at least treat the political divide that is only getting larger within this country, it might be worth it.
The one thing that a monarchy can do very well is channel unity and nationalism. While of course most people in America are patriotic, many, especially Trump supporters, claim that you can only be patriotic if you support Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election. This begs the question: What if we can create an entirely new entity, a new dignified Head of State who can channel our patriotism (without creating controversy) and at the same time separate that patriotism from our ideological values?
I have a deep fascination with the Scandinavian countries, and one of the things, among many, that they all have in common, is that they have a Constitutional monarch with limited power who serves as the Head of State of the government. These monarchs are incredibly popular due to their commitment to their country and their informal style compared to other more absolute monarchies. This would be the model I envision—we could retain the President as the Head of Government for now, but the new monarch would serve as the Head of State, paying visits to other countries and could be the Commander-in-Chief of the military, among other typical roles.
The new monarch and royal family would live in Washington DC, potentially with some other residences scattered across the country just as the President has with Camp David and personal residences. They would act act as a group of people who can embody the core values we generally all share: liberty, freedom, democracy (albeit less in the age of Trump), justice, etc. Obviously the biggest benefit would be that the institution would allow us to take away patriotism and core values away from politics and potentially heal some of the divide in Congress. An ideal monarch would be non-partisan, meaning that we can all celebrate and cherish our values on days like the 4th of July without feeling the need to criticize the President at the same time (although of course I think we need to criticize Trump at all costs). Instead of trying to rally around the President in times of disaster, which is not happening anymore in the age of Trump, Americans can feel no shame rallying around the monarch.
Tangible Benefits
Studies have shown that a monarchy is good for stability and due to high social trust, monarchies have reduced crime rates and corruption. While of course, many other steps have to be taken to lower corruption in US politics, transitioning out of a Presidency, which often is purchased by special interest groups, would be a good start.
Monarchies also have astounding effects on the economy due to the tourism they create. The British Royal Family contributes $1.57 billion dollars to the UK economy, with a 1/3 of that being tourism! This benefit would be huge for our economy.
The other benefit I want to mention is that a monarchy often highlights important causes. Look at, for example, Princess Diana’s commitment to shift opinion about AIDS or Prince William and Prince Harry’s efforts to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health. The causes are never highlighted by major political figures in this country, and installing a monarchy could change that.
Opposition
The idea of a monarchy in a Republican country like the United States is likely going to face immense pushback. Since our founding, politicians have always been in constant fear of what a monarch could do if a monarchy were to be installed. That being said, many of those fears are based in the idea of an absolute monarchy, an institution nearly extinct on this planet. This criticism that a monarch would have immense power is not relevant when discussing a constitutional monarchy, in which case the monarch has very little power with the exception of giving out awards/honors, commanding the military, and few other official duties. Many of these duties, furthermore, could be turned into a power-sharing system with the President if the President position were to be retained. Frankly, I think we could even go further and abolish the Presidency as a whole and install a Prime Minister from the House of Representatives to serve as the Head of Government, but that is a lot more controversial.
Another criticism of a monarchy is one that I share, which, as I previously mentioned, is that a monarchy is relatively expensive to maintain for what people get in return. In fact, the general public gets nothing tangible in return for that spending except for maybe some added stability. Given how fiscally conservative much of this country is, a monarchy is one of the last things I would expect citizens and politicians to spend money on (unless it helps the rich!). In all honesty, the only group of people I would expect to be consistent in their support for a monarchy would be hardcore Trump supporters, under the assumption that Trump becomes the monarch with Don Jr. (as the oldest child) being the heir apparent. I don’t even think a monarchy could gain progressives’ support given progressives’ commitment to equality and fairness, seven though I consider myself to be progressive .
With the amount of special interest groups in this country and the amount of opposition I would expect, there is no way we will likely ever end up with a monarchy—we would have to write an entirely new Constitution! Yet, building support through appealing to core values and highlighting the benefits, especially the economic ones, could be an effective tool for building support.
In Conclusion
Do I think that a constitutional monarchy is the best possible system of government for the United States? No. In fact, for my opinion on what would be the best, refer to my article I wrote in October 2020 here.
Would a constitutional monarchy be better than the mess we have right now? Absolutely.
If we can reduce the influence the President has on our values and our patriotism, that would be a major step forward. With Trump threatening to run again in 2024 and the potential for future Trump-like figures to hold office again in the future, a constitutional monarch would be a godsend for this country.
Let me know your thoughts on a monarchy in the response section. I expect this to be a charged topic :).
