on 15/4/2018, 23:26:27, in reply to "Re: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in wide ranging interview...."
To the topic of this board, the discussion between MbS and Goldberg on monarchy was very interesting. While I do not have a high regard for absolute monarchy as a system, I think the Crown Prince made an essential point that Americans (including some American administrations) too often miss, that liberty (rule of law, human rights, etc.) and democracy are not the same thing. I can't count how many times I have had to correct compatriots of mine who have said things like, "Britain's a monarchy but we're a democracy..."
The reason why things usually end in tears for absolutist regime like Saudi Arabia's - whether monarchical or republican - is that while monarchy is perfectly compatible with both liberty and democracy, vesting absolute power in a single family rarely is with either. When people get fed up, as they inevitably do in any system, that makes it very hard to redress their grievances.
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: --Previous Message--
: and discusses his views on Saudi absolute
: monarchy and the powers of Elizabeth II, the
: right of the Jewish people to a homeland and
: religious fundamentalism.
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: A fascinating interview, which I can't help
: but feel reflects more positively on the
: Crown Prince than his interviewer, who slips
: into the eternal trap of American journalism
: of always viewing every other culture
: through the prism of American superiority,
: which the Crown Prince accurately points out
: repeatedly.
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: Whatever your views on the Crown Prince or
: his regime, he is clearly an extremely
: intelligent and determined man (I do not say
: good man) who may have a major impact on his
: region and maybe the world in the next few
: decades if he manages to stay in control.
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: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/04/mohammed-bin-salman-iran-israel/557036/
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: A very interesting interview.
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