[Freeciv-Dev] Re: (PR#13805) Suggested change of default ruler titles

["Daniel Markstedt" <himasaram@xxxxxxxx>]

<URL: http://bugs.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=13805 >

On 2005-09-16, at 18.23, Brian Dunstan wrote:

>
> <URL: http://bugs.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=13805 >
>
> I don't know.  Technically, what distinguishes a
> monarchy from a despotism is that the former is
> heredetary, and the latter is not.  The problem is
> that so many despots try and find ways to be monarchs
> -- just look at how many modern middle eastern despots
> try to find ways of giving the job to their progeny.
>
> The real distinction, in my view, is that a monarch
> got his power from his parents, whereas a despot
> siezed it from someone else.
>

I don't agree with you: There are many examples throughout history of 
elective monarchy (e.g. old Bengal, contemporary Malaysia etc) as well 
as hereditary despotism (e.g. North Korea etc)

The important difference is the level of delegation within the ruling 
class. With despotism, all decisions are made by the ruler, while in 
monarchy the king has a group of influential ministers that can make 
decisions to a certain extent. The actual level of delegation of course 
differs between cultures and eras, but this is the general distinction.

Daniel