The Monarchy is such good value I’m told because we get to keep all the revenues from the Crown Estate. This, publicly owned and operated estate, was stolen from the people of Britain through the thousand years since the Norman conquest and is valued at a £1 billion.
The wealth owned by most members of the Royal Family is simply theft legitimised by history. When exactly was this land and wealth earned? When they were rampaging psychopaths or after we had removed all formal power from them? They should be stripped of all land and private property, they haven’t earned it. If they want to be continue to be Royalty they can draw a wage for their job like the rest of us. Don’t even get me started on the Duchy of Cornwall!
Rant over.
Filed under: Society
Well it’s a 1000 years of property rights, unmatched anywhere else in the world which is ultimately why the British are rich.
Um, that is 700 years of property rights being violated and “gifted” to the royals…then 300 years when we told them to fuck off and that parliament was supreme and property rights mattered.
That’s why for those 700 years we were one of the poorest nations in Europe and for the next 300 one of the wealthiest.
The publicly owned and managed Crown Estates are a relic and need privatisation. They’re my lands dammit.
I didn’t think that you were that naive. Your lands? Let’s say that the Monarchy is abolished tomorrow, and the Crown Estates sold off, how much do you realistically think that you’ll receive? Not a penny, I can assure you of that. At best the break up of the Estate will create some very rich men, probably MPs or former MPs; at worst it will be sold to foreign ‘landlords’ who’ll become even richer off the backs of hard working Britons and the money will disappear from these shores forever.
The system we have now works best, the Royals may own the land but they don’t receive a penny of the profits and cannot sell it, therefore what does it matter that they own it? The annual income of several hundred million goes into the Government coffers, ergo is several hundred million less tax for us to pay. We may not own the land, but we own the profits – where is the problem?
As for earning it, dear god, where would you draw the line? When should Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg’s descendants be stripped of the money that they haven’t earned? You cannot judge historical events by modern standards and you cannot punish people today based on the actions of their ancestors, didn’t your study of history teach you this?
Worrying about what you are owed and trying to work out by whom is indicative of the victim mentality that seems to pervade modern Britain. You’re not rich ergo it must be the fault of someone who is.
Your history is poor, and wrong. Sorry.
I’ve just completed a Masters in History at the LSE, you’re going to have to be a little more specific, because I am happy to.
Britain was a poor European country whose principle export was raw wool. Until the mid 1600s Northern Italy and Northern Germany were wealthier than us. Living standards were even higher in large parts of India and most of China because of higher agricultural productivity. It was in this terrible, miserable period that the Crown Estate was built up.
From 1600s onwards private merchants became wealthier due to their position in Atlantic trade (in France, Spain, Portugal the state monopolised this trade). Because private wealth increased they were able to challenge the monarch and secure more property rights and protection against arbitrary expropriation. From 1688 with the Glorious Revolution and through the George’s the Royals lost power and the people gained them. It was this period when we got wealthier.
The rights of the Royals to this land may have been affirmed by tradition since George III gave them up, they still were originally acquired by the Royals through coercion.
They’re also publicly managed, and all good Tories should want them privatised on principle. Why are the Royals nominally landlords in Central London?
Here you are, get some history down ya.
http://whynationsfail.com/summary/