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Ask HN: What do you think of the Queen?

by nickgubbins on 6/2/22, 1:48 PM with 24 comments

• by EddieDante on 6/2/22, 4:55 PM

  > the HN community think of the Queen

  I can't speak for anybody else, but I can answer your question in seven words:

  I usually don't think of the Queen.

  I'm not her subject, since I'm a New Yorker and some of my English ancestors fought to throw off the tyranny of Britain. Some of my ancestors are French, and I think most of us know what the French think of monarchy; they created a technological solution to the sociopolitical problem of a burdensome ruling class.

  As for Britain maintaining its half-assed monarchy: it's not like the Queen has any real authority, is it? Sure, she can open and dissolve Parliament, and gives her assent to laws passed by the Lords and Commons, but isn't the royal assent essentially a rubber stamp?

  It seems to be Parliament and the Prime Minister calling the shots, and even the PM doesn't dare annoy Parliament too much. I wouldn't say that the British system is less democratic than the one we have in the US, where unelected billionaires all but buy Senators with impunity, and a few senators can force Congress to ignore the will of the people. If anything, I'd say that the UK is more republican than the US.

  Besides, the monarchy seems to be good for tourism and the occasional scandal. We can't let the Kardiashians have all the fun, can we?

  Now, let's talk about meritocracy. I know the word has positive connotations, especially here on HN, but we seemed to have forgotten that the word "meritocracy" was coined by Michael Dunlop Young in his dystopian satire, The Rise of the Meritocracy. Alas, too many people have misread it as they've misread 1984, The Handmaid's Tale, and Snow Crash, so that like these better-known books The Rise of the Meritocracy is treated as an instruction manual instead of a warning -- when it is read at all.

• by p0d on 6/2/22, 7:52 PM

  I'm 50 and the Queen represents a more resilient past. The two things I hear loudest from our culture today are anxiety and the desire for success. I was just saying to my wife we grew up during the troubles in Northern Ireland, experienced bombs, the murder of friends, and the murder of relatives of close friends. There seems to be more anxiety now than there was then. Especially among young girls who are under no imminent threat. The threat seeming to be the problem of too much information and comparison.

  We have made great progress in society but I fear we are in danger of shooting ourselves in the foot. The long life of a Queen who is committed to serve others, and not just her own wishes, sits well with me

• by tycho_oscar on 6/2/22, 2:26 PM

  I have no love for that family. I don't wish any ill on them, but they are a relic of a bygone age that caused more harm than good. The tourism angle that people use to justify their expenses doesn't really hold up either. Paris alone has just as many if not more tourists per year and they got rid of their royals a long time ago.

  To be fair though I am not British, I'm Irish. So my perspective on that family is not the same as someone who was born and raised in the UK.

• by uberman on 6/2/22, 1:58 PM

  How is the UK monarchy anti-democratic in any manner? She has only symbolic governmental power. Alternatively, do you feel the monarch should be elected for some reason and if they were, what problem would that solve?

• by usrn on 6/2/22, 2:15 PM

  I think the people in the UK have lost their appreciation for the advantages of a monarchy. Yes it's anti-democratic but democracy is not an absolute good, many people have written about this. I think she could have prevented a lot of the destruction that's come to Britain but she needs a little more support from the people. The lack of faith in the monarchy has unfortunately (in a kind of democratic way interestingly enough) taken away a lot of its power.

• by midislack on 6/2/22, 2:03 PM

  She is a fine CEO of the Crown Corporation. It's likely you don't even know what that is, most Brits have no clue what the difference between London and the City are, or what the relationship is between the Sovereign and the Crown.

• by mikewarot on 6/2/22, 5:40 PM

  For the most part, I like her. I'm sad that she hasn't been able to keep all her kids in line. They (the Royals) need to get back in touch with their actual purpose in the 21st century - to act as a check against the wild excesses of democracy. They're the safety valve to keep stuff like Brexit from happening.... oops.

  Also, it would be awesome if one of them studied forensic accounting and looked into all areas of Her Majesty's government.

• by simonblack on 6/2/22, 11:49 PM

  The Queen is just a figurehead, like the more recent US Presidents.

  The true power in both the US and the UK is the 'Deep State' or the 'Establishment' or the 'Oligarchy' or whatever you want to call it. (The rich and powerful behind the scenes.)

  Sure, we think we elect the President. But who really selects who are the final two candidates that we are allowed to vote for?

• by cheaprentalyeti on 6/2/22, 9:37 PM

  I think she's done a good job at Starfleet.

• by VoodooJuJu on 6/2/22, 7:33 PM

  I don't.