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Why should they dial the ostentation back?

by cal85 3y ago

jleyank 3y ago
Their existence depends on the tolerance of the taxed. Burn that out and theyll have to work for a living. Edit as I can’t reply…. Japan’s royalty has been around far longer but isn’t particularly fancy. Denmark’s is similar in duration to the post Norman uk, similarly “mild”. People don’t like seeing such behaviour in lean times.
- 988747 3y ago
  [dead]
- cal85 3y ago
  I’m not sure. The most successful, enduring ‘royal family’ in the world appears to be the one that has been the most careful to conserve all the ostentation.
  - fakedang 3y ago
    Well Japanese royalty is most certainly not ostentatious.
    - cal85 3y ago
      Fair point, enduring wasn’t the best word. But point is, the British one is a standout successful one, and also a standout ostentatious one. Every time there’s some big royal thing going on, people talk about how it’s too ostentatious and it will never survive like that, but revealed preferences seem to show that is its greatest strength.
- usrusr 3y ago
  Are those monarchies even tax funded? A separation between private ("house") and state property is usually much older than even the earliest traces of democratization and when they got to where they are today without completely losing their formal status, the house property will have survived just fine. Apply the supposedly not-feudal-at-all mechanisms of free market to those (land-)lords and you get something generously funded by nothing but privileged birth.
michaelt 3y ago
Some members of the ruling class prefer to present themselves as 'normal' people who are 'just like you'. For example, by not wearing a tie and by inviting you to use a chummy nickname for them, they hope you'll overlook the fact they're the grandson of a baronet and went to Eton. Presumably jleyank thinks the same might boost the popularity of the royals. Personally I'm not so sure - the level of ostentation surrounding the royals is so ridiculously over-the-top that you can't possibly take it seriously. Scale it back carelessly and it might start looking sincere, and that's the last thing we want.

Why should they dial the ostentation back?

by cal85 3y ago

Why should they dial the ostentation back?

Their existence depends on the tolerance of the taxed. Burn that out and theyll have to work for a living. Edit as I can’t reply…. Japan’s royalty has been around far longer but isn’t particularly fancy. Denmark’s is similar in duration to the post Norman uk, similarly “mild”. People don’t like seeing such behaviour in lean times.

988747 3y ago
[dead]
cal85 3y ago
I’m not sure. The most successful, enduring ‘royal family’ in the world appears to be the one that has been the most careful to conserve all the ostentation.
- fakedang 3y ago
  Well Japanese royalty is most certainly not ostentatious.
  - cal85 3y ago
    Fair point, enduring wasn’t the best word. But point is, the British one is a standout successful one, and also a standout ostentatious one. Every time there’s some big royal thing going on, people talk about how it’s too ostentatious and it will never survive like that, but revealed preferences seem to show that is its greatest strength.
usrusr 3y ago
Are those monarchies even tax funded? A separation between private ("house") and state property is usually much older than even the earliest traces of democratization and when they got to where they are today without completely losing their formal status, the house property will have survived just fine. Apply the supposedly not-feudal-at-all mechanisms of free market to those (land-)lords and you get something generously funded by nothing but privileged birth.

michaelt 3y ago

Some members of the ruling class prefer to present themselves as 'normal' people who are 'just like you'. For example, by not wearing a tie and by inviting you to use a chummy nickname for them, they hope you'll overlook the fact they're the grandson of a baronet and went to Eton. Presumably jleyank thinks the same might boost the popularity of the royals. Personally I'm not so sure - the level of ostentation surrounding the royals is so ridiculously over-the-top that you can't possibly take it seriously. Scale it back carelessly and it might start looking sincere, and that's the last thing we want.