Bad family business
On the iPhone, Henry VIII, and why even a parks department shouldn't be governed by hereditary monarchs
A story reported by Reuters says that South Korean officials are coming to believe that Kim Jong Un has picked his successor: His daughter, thought to be around 13 years old. It’s not that Kim’s demise is imminent; aged somewhere in his lower 40s, he’s a spring chicken by comparison with many heads of state.
■ But he is the heir to a dreadful family business, and consolidating power around a blood-related heir is a sly way of trying to head off any future competition for power. She’s only about the age of the iPhone 5.
■ Government by absolute hereditary monarchy is stupid. No matter what outfit it wears, whether it’s dressed up in robes like Henry VIII or wearing a Mao suit, it’s still stupid. Just because they call it “socialism” doesn’t change the fact that it’s a monarchy.
■ And it’s stupid not because it’s impossible for a multi-generational family operation to produce conscientious leaders; successful family transfers happen in the private sector, as long as the families involved are careful to steer clear of the pitfalls of going “from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations”.
■ The powerful hereditary monarchy is a terrible and corrupt idea because it deprives people of their own choice in their governance. None of us would want to live under so much as a parks department governed by a hereditary monarchy. Not a school board, not a city council, not a county board of supervisors. Not a statehouse, an EPA region, nor a Federal Reserve bank district.
■ But above all, absolutely not a national government.