Has the monarchy become an outdated institution ?

     Since the French Revolution, the majority of Europeans countries have replaced the monarchy, considered unfair and unequal by the democratic republic, as their political system. Nowadays, only a few countries are monarchies in Europe and in the world. The following question can sus be raised : to what extend has the monarchy become an outdated institution It can be argued that in the modern world, the monarchic system has not the same political power than before but steel got a traditional and social influence on the subjects.

       First of all, most of the former powerful monarchies such as France, Italy or Germany has turned into democratic republics to become the modern countries we know. Their citizens decided to abolish privileges and the inequalities symbolised by this old system. Sometimes they did it by using force such as during the French Revolution. This event has had a so huge impact in France that nowadays, no one thinks of France as anything other than a republic. The monarchy belongs to a distant past. Moreover, all over the world it has became rarer to see a monarchy overthrow another system than the other way around. This feudal system based on privileges and heredity is more fragile than ever, the people are less and less willing to be governed by a single person who holds his power only from his birth. Finally, most of the remaining monarchies are constitutional monarchies, the sovereign has no real power, they are more symbolic than politic.

      However, if its power is weakened from a political point of view like the British monarchy, it is not so from a symbolic point of view. In fact, the british royal family is one of the most famous and mediatized one in the world, they are continuously followed by the tabloids. Kate and William's wedding has been watched on TV by millions of people all over the world, every birth is a worldwide event, people are betting on the royal babies gender or names, even mugs and t-shirt are sold with the royal family members faces... Moreover, the British monarchy keeps an influence in the whole world thanks to the countries of the Commonwealth of wich Queen Elisabeth II is the sovereign. The monarchy unites Great Britain, it keeps fascinating its subjects.  

      To put in a nutshell, even if the monarchy seems to be an outdated institution regarding to the power and politic side, this is not the case regarding to the symbolic and traditional side. The monarchy has no longer the same political power than before but her legitimacy comes from a deep tradition and fascination rooted in the mentalities of its subjects.

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