TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Ross Douthat:

And the existence of a largely-powerless royal family can be a useful hedge against the perpetual temptation to invest ordinary politicians with quasi-royal powers, and then (almost inevitably) watch them run amok. (The experience of post-Franco Spain suggests that the restoration of a hereditary monarchy after a long period of dictatorship can play a similar stabilizing role.) Having a monarch as the symbolic head of state keeps elected officials in their place, provides an apolitical outlet for popular hero worship and the cults of celebrity, and satisfies the human hunger for ceremonial authority.

Interesting argument, but granting that we might need some ceremonial head of state to satisfy our need for powerful, royal leaders means we have already failed our revolution. The point of the American revolution was not just to throw off the king’s control of the colonies, but to reject the idea that we need powerful political leaders at all. The inherent basis of the revolution was that we, as individuals and as communities, can lead and manage ourselves.