Why we we owe it to our ancestors and descendants to abolish the monarchy

Why We Owe It To Our Ancestors:

1. Historical Struggles for Freedom and Equality

-Generations before us fought for rights ordinary people now take for granted: the vote, free speech, trade unions, women’s suffrage, civil liberties.

-Many of those movements directly challenged inherited privilege and unearned power. To keep a hereditary monarchy can be seen as betraying their struggles.

2. The Principle of Meritocracy

-Our ancestors worked to build a society where people should rise by talent, not by birth.

-The monarchy, by definition, stands for inherited status, which clashes with the idea of fairness and equal opportunity that people in the past gave their lives for.

3. Breaking with Feudal Past

-The monarchy is a symbol of feudal systems, when kings, lords, and aristocrats owned almost everything and ordinary people had little to no rights.

-Abolishing it could be seen as completing the journey our ancestors began: moving from feudalism to democracy.

4. Respecting Sacrifice

-Wars, revolutions, and reform campaigns often cost lives. For example, the Levellers and Chartists in Britain, or revolutionaries in Europe, demanded more democratic rights.

-Honouring their sacrifice means not clinging to institutions that contradict the principle of equality they fought for.

Why We Owe It to Our Descendants:

1. A Fairer Society for the Next Generation

-Leaving the monarchy in place means passing down an institution based on birthright and inequality.

-Abolishing it would mean our children inherit a society that’s more consistent with values of fairness, meritocracy, and democracy.

2. Modernising Democracy

-Future generations deserve a system that reflects 21st-century ideals, not medieval hierarchies.

-By abolishing the monarchy now, we clear space for new democratic traditions that empower people instead of privileging one family.

3. Economic Responsibility

-The monarchy costs millions in public funds.

-Abolishing it will free resources for things that matter more to our descendants — education, healthcare, tackling climate change.

4. Role Models and Representation

-Passing on a monarchy says to the next generation that some people are “born to rule.”

-Abolishing it would model the idea that leadership should come from talent, service, and accountability, not heredity.

5. Ending a Cycle of Deference

-If we don’t make the change, our children will inherit the same debate and the same contradictions.

-Abolishing the monarchy now would lift the burden from them, allowing them to focus on the challenges of their own time.

We have a duty not just to honour the past, but to gift the future with a society that is freer, fairer, and more democratic than the one we inherited.

Feeling inspired? Email the Policy Development Committee at pdc@greenparty.org.uk

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