Democracy is full of contradictions. Yet when it comes to an alternative (I live in a democracy), what is acceptable? Would things be better under an absolute monarchy, with a king or a queen ruling by decree and Dukes and Duchesses, Marquises and Marquesses, Viscounts and Viscountesses doing their bidding? Imagine a visit to the Vancouver Art Gallery, where we are met by its director, the Baroness of California, Kathleen Bartels. Or the Amazon head office, for a lecture by King Bezos.
Back in the deregulating 1970s, one got the feeling that private corporations were evolving into feudal manors, and that it was only a matter of time before their regulation of our bodies was official, as depicted in period films like Rollerball (1975) and Logan's Run (1976). I never for one moment thought that a parliamentary democracy might be breached by the electorate's preference for a member of that country's royal family as its prime minister.
No comments:
Post a Comment