> A person being a good king is probably a bad predictor of their great grandson being a good king
This is a very interesting point. One of the very best things democracy offers is reasonable hand-offs of power. Has any country tried something like "electable kings"? There would be one monarch who gets voted into power, who then has ultimate control (subject to a Constitution or something). Then, upon death, the country holds an election and a new monarch is voted in?
Or, in between, what's the longest any particular head of state is elected for these days? In the US, the president is in charge for 4 years, which seems like too short of a time horizon to implement any sort of long-term plan. Any countries out there where they are elected, say, 10 years at a time?
This is a very interesting point. One of the very best things democracy offers is reasonable hand-offs of power. Has any country tried something like "electable kings"? There would be one monarch who gets voted into power, who then has ultimate control (subject to a Constitution or something). Then, upon death, the country holds an election and a new monarch is voted in?
Or, in between, what's the longest any particular head of state is elected for these days? In the US, the president is in charge for 4 years, which seems like too short of a time horizon to implement any sort of long-term plan. Any countries out there where they are elected, say, 10 years at a time?