Abolish the Monarchy: Why we should and how we will

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Prince Harry, seemingly on the run from his own family, and Andrew on the run from serious allegations of sexual assault. I appreciated the author’s direct but informative attempts to speak about republics in a hopeful but practical way. I hope that the monarchy is abolished soon but I don't share the author's view that it will happen anytime soon. As daylight gets through, behind the curtains of deference and secrecy, we increasingly see an institution that is ripe for challenge and criticism.

Nevertheless, nobody should be arrested for advocating what should really be common sense in this day and age. Unwilling to make the case for republicanism on its own merits, Smith builds his argument on the apparent shortcomings of monarchy itself. And Harry and Meghan continue to show that monarchy isn't just bad for Britain, it's bad for the royals too.For those who think we should just leave them to be as they do no harm, read this book s it may just change your view. At just over 200-page the shortest polemic which effectively dismisses all the arguments for the monarchy.

In every case it was obvious the reviewer had never read the book at all and had just decided that Smith must have ignored all these classic arguments (because they're so strong, right?Smith counters this argument brilliantly in essence showing that there is a great difference between being actively in favour of something and passively being ok with it continuing. He often falls back on tired tropes in an effort to make himself seem more patriotic, and makes a couple of questionable comparisons that I found quite odd and behind the times for what is otherwise a progressive work.

This is Graham Smith’s experience of attending innumerable public and media debates with defenders of the institution. This puts our country down and ignores our great contributions to exploration, science, music, literature, sport among many other aspects to our culture. He does not resort to caustic insult, and what barbed remarks there are have a good reason for being there. Smith correctly points out in this fantastic manifesto the fact that British media and public discourse does not allow for even a shred of anti-monarchy (thus pro-democracy) sentiment in the media or other spaces of debate, lest the lumpen learn that they’ve been duped into supporting their own (by all objective measures of wealth and political power) oppressors. Smith fails to provide any concrete proposals for how the monarchy would be abolished or what would replace it.There is no engagement with the writings of the German historian Ernst Kantorowicz, who exposed the sophistication of monarchical conceptions of the state. They aren't accountable to anyone, and yet between them they are privy to more government secrets than many cabinet ministers. There is a growing appetite for answers to the questions that are raised when people turn away from the monarchy: what’s the alternative, how do I talk about this issue with other people, what are the facts I need to know about the monarchy, and can we really get rid of it?

As with many books, I imagine, the publication timing is selected deliberately because it might benefit sales. Smith’s sixteen hours in police custody has generated more publicity for his organisation than the eighteen years he’s toiled away campaigning to replace the monarch with an elected head of state.The events of the last couple of years are examined in particular detail, as they've really exposed the weaknesses of the British royal family both as an institution and as individuals. For the purposes of transparency, I'll state that I've been anti-monarchist for my entire adult life. This excellent guide made me want to engage in the Republican cause more, as the book is so hopeful and champions strengths of our country. The British Monarchy appears so invincible and unassailable that it’s defenders are getting complacent. Apart from tearing apart the concept of hereditary, unelected heads of state and aristocracy, Smith also shows us a wholly democratic Britain with concrete, productive proposals for what we could have if only we went for it!