Author: Chairman rabbit source: tuzhuxi (ID: Chairman rabbit)
The death of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the subsequent succession of Charles triggered heated reports around the world. Of course, the English speaking world and the Commonwealth of nations are most concerned about this matter.
1. Americans who pay attention to the British royal family
Among them, the United States is worth noting. The current government, the former president, and various politicians all delivered eulogies to express their praise for Elizabeth II. At this time, the major mainstream media seemed to have no distinction between the right and the left, and could not see who was the Republic and who was the royalist in terms of values: whether it was the liberal / progressive left media or the nationalist / conservative right media, everyone was reporting the matter according to the highest standard, for fear of missing something.
At first glance, the American media think that their queen is dead, or that the United States is a member of the British Commonwealth. There is an idiom called “feel like you’ve lost your breath in the examination”. This word seems to be very useful to describe the feelings of the United States (and many people outside the United Kingdom and / or the Commonwealth) over the death of Elizabeth II.
But don’t forget that the United States won political independence from the British Empire – this is the “foundation” of the United States.
Then why should the American media follow up and report the news of the British royal family in a high profile? Naturally, most American viewers have always paid close attention to the British royal family news, which has transcended political parties and ideologies.
There are indeed some discordant voices in the public opinion field of the English speaking world. For example, some people say that they will never mourn the death of the head of a colonial empire who committed numerous crimes – but these voices are in the minority, mostly limited to social media. Most people recognize and appreciate Elizabeth II and have a lot of good feelings for her. At least in the English speaking world, it has become a political symbol that transcends political parties and ideological differences, providing people with identity, certainty, security and even meaning of existence.
Besides, why did the American media pay so much attention to the death of Elizabeth II?
(this article only takes the United States as an example, but this expression is also applicable to many other English speaking countries to varying degrees.)
Because the United States is a country without roots. Now it is still a “torn country”. The Democratic Party and the Republican Party are engaged in a political civil war to define American culture, identity, core values, the way to go in the future, and the fundamental goals and directions of the country.
As a multi-ethnic immigrant country, what does American politics depend on? The constitution, the recognition of the American political system, the yearning for democracy and personal values
But the constitution is only a text. It is the “petrification” of the thinking of white men who lived hundreds of years ago. It has no temperature and vitality. Republicans / rightists and Democrats / leftists are busy fighting over how to interpret this “petrified idea” through the layout of the Supreme Court.
American democracy, American system, American values, and American culture – the Republican Party / right and the Democratic Party / left both believe that they are representing orthodoxy, orthodoxy, and correctness. They reject each other’s positions, attitudes, and ideas completely, and put each other on the upper line of the platform, with the biggest label of “anti American”.
The so-called political value seems to be just a “little girl” who is allowed to interpret and dress up politically.
Therefore, Americans must secretly envy the stable existence of the British royal family.
But the Republic is the foundation of the United States. Without the tradition and soil of monarchy and aristocracy, it is impossible to establish a constitutional monarchy. Therefore, they can only look across the sea and admire the British royal family to see if they can find some comfort and strength.
Next, let’s talk about the characteristics and values of the British royal family.
2. The characteristics and values of the British royal family
1) Because it is “depoliticized” and “apolitical”
, and got rid of political disputes: the British monarch, as the head of state, is purely honorary and symbolic, basically achieving complete “Depoliticization”, ensuring the “non political nature” of the royal family and cutting it very clean from politics. People usually worry about personal autocracy, arbitrariness and non democracy brought by monarchy / hereditary system, but these are completely absent from the British constitutional monarchy. Accordingly, people do not need and will not judge the royal family based on political policies. The royal family is more a moral existence, a spiritual existence, a historical existence, a cultural existence and an economic existence;
2) Become an “asset” that can balance and dispel the negative image of the government: the British political system is very special. There is no “separation of powers” and “separation of powers” understood by the United States and many Chinese people. Almost all power is concentrated in the cabinet government. The core members of the cabinet are elected members of the house of Commons (legislators), Fully lead the legislative work of the government, and lead the work of all administrative departments in the capacity of cabinet member / Minister. The legislative, administrative and judicial wrangling in the United States, the bickering between the two parties in Congress, and the federal and local wrangling do not exist in the United Kingdom. Under the condition that power and responsibility are equal, if there is a problem with political policies, the cabinet government will “shoulder” all responsibilities. The public will always be dissatisfied with the government. At this time, the government has absorbed all negative energy and accusations politically, becoming a “liability”, and the royal family plays a balance and stability role. Therefore, the royal family can play the role of “assets” in British politics, which can always give people certainty, comfort and confidence;
3) Representing traditional values, since the British royal family is non political, it naturally needs to transcend political ideology and political parties. Its main function is to declare and promote mainstream values. The mainstream value here is not the latest and trendy value, but the “median” or consensus value of people in different places, ages and strata in the UK. Therefore, it certainly lags behind the value of young people, internationalization and metropolis; It must lag behind but not ahead of the trend value. When there is tension and conflict between the times and history, the choice of the royal family needs to be more historical, providing a solid link between traditional values for society. Here we can make an analogy. The content and value of China’s Spring Festival Gala must represent the mainstream of China and be acceptable to the general public. The personal, family and social life of the British royal family is in the public spotlight, and it is also a big play. The relationship between Charles and Camilla, as well as the royal family’s attitude towards Diana, deviated from the mainstream values of Britain in different directions, which also made Elizabeth II and the royal family face unprecedented pressure.
However, I would like to add that the royal family is “apolitical” as mentioned above. If the royal family represents traditional values, it is definitely conservative and relatively more biased or beneficial to the conservative party. This also partly explains why the conservative government has been in power for more than 60% of the time (nearly 50 years) since the Second World War, and Blair had to give up the left leaning line and find a “third” line that caters to the middle class to gain more than 10 years of power for the Labor Party.
4) Carry forward traditional values, shape social norms and drive consensus. The royal family needs to transcend political ideology, so it can only promote non political values. Look at the wording used by the Queen / monarch. Excluding religion (the Church of England), there are often some universally applicable secular codes of conduct and values related to personal and social life, such as various big words: respect, commitment, dedication, devotion, loyalty, love (love for family, family, family, society and country), effort, peace Sacrifice, equality, persistence, perseverance and so on. These are concepts that can awaken positive energy. Members of the royal family who undertake Royal responsibilities need to be molded or live as moral models, and their private lives are always put in the spotlight. Moreover, unlike professional politicians, once they undertake them, they are often lifelong responsibilities, and there is no exit path. Therefore, they are also a very tired way of life.
It should also be mentioned here that the royal family is already a secular national religion. Like many Western European countries, Britain is a highly secular country, and there are not many people who really believe in religion. The most ardent believers in Taiwan are probably Muslims and immigrants (or descendants) from other places. The British monarch himself has a religious role and is also the supreme leader of the Church of England. But apart from ceremonial and symbolic religious activities and functions, what can the monarch / Royal family do? Naturally, we should return to setting an example and try to be a model in terms of behavior norms. In this secularized modern society, the monarch / Royal family, as flesh and blood people, is far more “real” than religion. From this perspective, the monarchy and the royal family are a kind of “secular religion”, even replacing religion: its secularity lies in: first, the physical existence of the monarchy / the royal family; The second is the secularized personal, life and social values they advocate and practice; Third, convert Christianity into a belief in the British state;
5) It represents the continuity, stability and certainty of history, provides the people with a sense of “root” and helps establish the country’s culture and identity. This one can be compared with the United States. What is the national identity of the United States? Just a constitution that has no vitality, a political system, some political values (freedom, equality, democracy…) that are retreat and arbitrary, and then some buildings (the statue of liberty, the Capitol, the Empire State Building…). With these, can we really create a stable national identity \ cultural identity? When you talk about the country, you think of a printed constitution? Or do you want dollar bills? All this is not enough from the current tearing state of the United States. For those conservatives, nothing is more real than a Bible and a gun. After all, the United States still lacks history. There is no past life, and there is no shared culture, tradition, value and consensus. When the socio-economic situation is favorable, it is easy to see that there are no contradictions and reach superficial consensus; When the social economy is not going well, contradictions emerge. The role of politics is not to heal, but to tear.
These are the values of the royal family to Britain. It is the embodiment of the British ruling order (“Tong Xu”);
——It helps to find, recall, link and introduce history, Establish the relationship between the modern and the past (here, look at the group photo of Elizabeth II with successive US presidents from Truman to trump. No one can connect them with the number of heads of state in the United States; but the queen can connect all historical experiences. This is the special ability of an unelected lifetime head of government to connect history)
——It provides people with a sense of “root”, establishes national identity and defines British culture and tradition;
——When a country comes to the crossroads of history, encounters political disputes, conflicts and even confusion, it can provide people with confidence and comfort, and find historical “meaning” for real existence.
The above description does not apply to every British National. After all, there are always 30-40% Republicans who want to abolish the monarchy. But it should be noted that most Britons (about 60-70%) support the maintenance of the constitutional monarchy – they see the value of the royal family’s existence and also need it.
Liz truss, the new British Prime Minister, was a radical leftist at University: she demanded the abolition of the monarchy and considered the royal family a “disgrace” to the country. But now, she is the mother of two children. I think the perspective of the mother of two children is probably different: isn’t it a good thing to have a queen / king who is kind, kind-hearted, with positive energy and “harmless” to provide some kind of example for children and help build some kind of faith in the country?
6) The British monarch is the “living embodiment” of the British national image. The monarch is lifelong. When the monarch transcends the election and replacement of party politics, he becomes the image embodiment of the country and the “flesh body” of the country. This is the image of Elizabeth II. She is indeed a kind, kind-hearted woman, and quite humorous; Considering that she has been hardworking and patient all her life, the work she has done is indeed not easy, and her wisdom and experience are also condensed. Slowly, people will have a good feeling for her; At this time, when she travels around and meets foreign guests, she will become a national spokesperson with a positive image. To be realistic, the royal family of Windsor is still doing well. In addition to Diana being very passive for a while, she has done a good job in general, so that the queen has become an important part of the “soft power” of British culture.
3. Ordinary people’s respect and yearning for the royal family shows some simple pursuit of mankind
Americans are the most democratic and Republican (so much so that there are two parties, one called the Democratic Party and the other called the Republican Party). In the land of the United States, there are no monarchs and nobles (Indians / aborigines are not included here). Constitutional monarchy cannot be found in the United States.
But in fact, at least 40% to 50% of Americans yearn for strongman politics, authoritarianism and paternalism (Biden, the Democratic Party, calls them trump / Maga Republicans and “quasi fascists”).
The infatuation complex with the British royal family and its respect, yearning and unspeakable love transcends both parties and the political spectrum.
This still shows that Americans have seen some precious things in the British system that the United States cannot obtain.
Since Americans can’t get it, they can only “rub” a little “positive externality” by broadcasting the news about the British royal family.
But besides the author, there is a more important point, that is, most people actually yearn for (or do not resist) the existence of the monarch / Royal family. Of course, the premise is very important: the monarch / Royal family should be limited to a certain range, such as not letting the monarch / Royal family contact politics, forcing the monarch and royal family members to be moral models, and exerting a lot of tangible and intangible pressure on them to balance and eliminate the privileges they enjoy.
As long as the monarch / Royal family is limited to a certain range and becomes “harmless”, people are willing to accept it.
At this time, people will have a lot of imagination, longing and even obsession about the monarch and members of the royal family. This is an extremely complex emotion, ranging from Romanticism to the pursuit and belief in authority, to the search for faith, to mysticism.
Under the modern constitutional monarchy, the monarch / Royal family is actually a real-life “national mascot” that the whole country and even the world can watch and spy on. Every day, a “reality show” is staged (playing the “mascot” is the full-time job of the monarch / Royal family). Different people like (or dislike) this mascot for different reasons.
Because it is a “reality show” with a living body, the monarch / Royal family is more real and concrete than all the political ideas, values, principles and doctrines that are retreat. The relationship between people and the monarch / Royal family is not a relationship between people and theories or principles, but a relationship between people.
Once the constitutional monarchy is done well, it does have some specific advantages over the republican system. Therefore, a good monarch and a good royal family are indeed the “assets” of national politics. However, these are all formed by history, and they can be met but not sought.
Can CHARLES III be a good king? It may be difficult to surpass Elizabeth II, but it is not important. What we want to discuss here is the yearning and belief of the general public in the monarchy and the old system.
The author has also considered this issue. In the end, it’s probably evolutionary psychology, not politics, sociology or anthropology.
People’s belief in the monarchy, the royal family and the old system is basically the same as their understanding and yearning for religion and belief.
Belief in the monarch or religion may bring some “evolutionary advantages” to individuals and groups, making it easier for them to survive. Then, through continuous “natural selection”, this psychological mechanism is preserved and becomes a cognitive tendency shared by most people.
What are the advantages of yearning for and believing in monarchy, the old system and even religion?
——Avoiding risks and following the old practice: they are conservative in cognition, risk averse, and tend to continue the past practice, because it may be safer and more conducive to survival. This is why many people are willing to believe in the practices of the ancients, follow the old system and conservatism, and guard against innovation. The monarch is part of the old system;
——Explain unexplained phenomena through mysticism and authority, and give directions: in the course of evolution, human beings have to see countless unexplained natural phenomena (such as thunder and lightning), and also face social phenomena in an increasingly complex society. Discovering, explaining, understanding and dealing with uncertainty is an important part of human existence. Monarchy, religion, authoritarianism, paternalism and mysticism are all things that can give explanations and directions for everything, provide final certainty in uncertainty, and meet people’s psychological needs;
——Unity is strength, and building a larger social group: only unity, friendship and mutual assistance can human society survive and develop stably, whether against the natural environment or against other ethnic groups. Moreover, such solidarity, fraternity and mutual assistance must go beyond small families and relatives. Only by establishing solidarity, mutual assistance, fraternity and altruism in a wider range of social groups can we achieve greater survival and development. Religion is a tool to provide common ideas, common beliefs and enhance unity. For this reason, people even pay material and even life costs (such as various religious ceremonies). The monarch is also the same. The monarch is building a larger political community, providing people with identity, identity and meaning of existence, and making the community stable and sustainable;
——Looking for order to solve the problem of resource allocation: in the process of human survival and evolution, we are always faced with the problem of resource allocation. To solve the problem of resource allocation, we need to provide order. Monarchy, aristocracy, social hierarchy, paternalism and authoritarianism are all social orders that can help distribute resources. Most people are not born rebels psychologically, but are willing to find and accept the order of resource allocation.
These factors are conducive to the survival and reproduction of individuals and communities. They constitute an evolutionary advantage.
These factors have been mixed together for tens of thousands of years, hundreds of thousands of years, or even longer, forming the psychological mechanism of mankind today.
Therefore, we transcend the times. In any human society, if you find that people recognize and yearn for monarchs and religions, don’t be surprised, because this is human nature.
In human history, at least since human society developed into a large scale and formed written records, there have been religions and monarchs in most places and times. The Republican and secular history is very short, just a moment in the great history of mankind.
It can be seen from the above that the monarchy appeals to the most traditional, original, simple, simple and real things of mankind. Please note: This is not to say that it is “more advanced” or “more advanced”, but that it is more in line with the cognitive level of most people.
In contrast, the Republican politics, driven by political ideas, principles, values, political parties and movements, which has emerged in the past hundreds of years, is far more intelligent, advanced and civilized than the monarchy. But to the general public, it is also much more “complex” and “strange”, more difficult to understand and control, and looks chaotic and impetuous. In the context of great changes, especially when society is facing difficulties and torn apart, such a system is not easy to find a fulcrum and strength to unite and unite people. This is the situation in the United States.
From this perspective, the constitutional monarchy is indeed a system that can integrate tradition and modernity. When we compare the United Kingdom and the United States, we will find that the more we fall into great changes and face uncertainty, the more we can see the enduring resilience provided by the constitutional monarchy.
In addition, when a society encounters major crises and difficulties, it will often give birth to some political movements and ideologies that are brewing major changes – passion, fighting spirit, revolution, overthrowing the old system, overthrowing the old class, and establishing a new world and new order. However, from the perspective of history, it is very difficult for a society to maintain stable development to be built on the logical basis of lasting revolution and self overthrow – sustainability, stability, predictability, certainty, inheritance and connection with history, and continuous development on the basis of history (“continue to develop”), which is the most important thing to find a set of interconnected ultimate meanings for the past, present and future. In China, there is already an answer. Although China’s system is a republic, it is the inheritance and development of the Chinese unification; The mission of the people and the country is to pursue the great rejuvenation of the nation.
The general secretary once said, “the people have faith, the country has strength, and the nation has hope.” this is a pithy summary.
In combination with today’s comparison and analysis of the British royal family and American politics, it can also help us to further think about this issue.
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