Quote:
Originally Posted by Hack&Lube
I follow the philosophy of Edmund Burke in terms of valuing the conservative approach of preserving systems and institutions.
People often talk about Calvin, Hobbes, and Voltaire but Burke is often forgotten. His famous work, "Reflections on the Revolution in France" is an argument for preserving institutions, even if people don't necessarily see the immediate value for them but institutions are the foundation for the traditions and stability in our legal and political systems. Throwing out your institutions and trying to reinvent traditions that worked for hundreds of years results in chaos, inequity, and bloodshed like what was seen in the Reign of Terror in France or post-Soviet Russia (consequences of which we are seeing even today).
I fully support the continuation of the Monarchy as part of the institution of the 1000 year history of the political systems and legal systems Canada and other Commonwealth realms have inherited that follow much more historical convention than statute than people realize. People talk about the financial burden of maintaining the Monarchy but the entire system generates a return on investment in tourism and other factors for the UK that outweighs what is put in to support that one family. Preservation of some traditions are important, even if it flies in the face of some modern sensibilities.
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I dunno, it seems like sometimes you have to take one step back to take two or twenty or two hundred steps forward.
There are a lot of really ####ty systems and institutions out there. If things are going well for you, then of course preserving those conditions seems preferable. Which probably factors into my opinion that the monarchy is really dumb, but as good as any option to serve its limited but imported function. Mostly I just don't trust us to come up with anything better right now.