Peter,Originally Posted by Peter C.
I agree with everything you say Brian.
Just one point about hereditary power and privilege.
The British Royal Family have hereditary privilege, but in almost every wealthy family the children get the best of everything, that is a sort of hereditary privilege. The royal family get that privilege at the very high cost of having the whole of their lives controlled by their jobs.
The British Royal Family has no hereditary power. Unlike your head of state, who is the most powerful man in the world, the queen has no power over the people or the country, she just supports which ever government the people vote in. Fot example, in 1982 when we went to war, it was Margaret Thatcher who sent us, not the queen.
I guess that was two points.
Peter
I dispute nothing you say. I agree with it entirely. When I spoke of hereditary power and privilege I was speaking of royalty and aristocracy in general. There are places in the world where power is inherited along with privilege. Even in England there are those in government who have inherited there positions - many in the House of Lords, for example. Of course, if Labour has their way even this will change eventually.
As far as how hard the British royals work at their job I also agree with you there. I am particularly impressed at the schedule the Queen keeps. Most octogenarians would find her official calendar a grueling ordeal. Not only does she stick to it year in and year out, but it seems to me that she quite enjoys it. Long live the Queen!
Regards,
Brian
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