The Technological Disruption

Every day, billions scroll through feeds that promise connection but deliver division—families at dinner, heads down, worlds apart. Social media and smartphones have tied us closer than ever, yet they fracture our focus, strain bonds, and erode cohesion. Birthrates are collapsing—Japan’s fertility rate fell to 1.26 in 2023, far below replacement levels. Mental health issues are surging; a 2024 WHO report noted a 25% rise in global depression since 2015. Trust in institutions—governments, media, even science—has crumbled with only 30% of Americans expressing confidence in federal leadership, per a 2024 Gallup poll. Politics, once a forum for a reasonable debate, often resembles a circus, amplified by algorithms that reward outrage over reason.

Technology has outstripped our ability to adapt. Artificial intelligence and social media’s addictive pull aren’t niche issues—they’re reshaping society. Platforms like TikTok face scrutiny for boosting divisive content while curbing criticism of authoritarian regimes, per a 2023 Center for Strategic and International Studies report. Western media often pushes progressive narratives that prioritize identity over heritage or community, deepening rifts. Worse, AI’s looming power—tailoring propaganda at scale, like deepfakes swaying millions—threatens a crisis no current system is equipped for. Yet technology offers hope: blockchain could secure transparent governance, and AI could streamline local councils if guided by purpose, not profit.

Foreign Influence and the Absurdities of Modern Democracy

Foreign interference in elections has sparked heated debate, but the panic often outweighs the reality. In 2016, Democrats spotlighted a $5,000 Russian Facebook ad buy as a dire threat to U.S. elections—a speck amid billions in domestic spending. At the 2025 Munich Security Conference, Vice President JD Vance cut through this alarmism:

There is no security if you're afraid of the voices, the opinions and the conscience that guide your very own people… If your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn’t very strong to begin with.

Vance’s point is clear: if minor interference can topple democracy, its roots are frail. Too often, these fears become tools to silence dissent, targeting opposition under the guise of safeguarding elections.

Subtler influence persists. In 2024, reports inspired by the Decentralized Organization for Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) flagged millions in USAID funds for overseas cultural programs, some resembling influence campaigns veiled as aid. Clothed in social justice ideals, these efforts reshape norms at home and abroad. Supporters see progress; critics see discord. Democracy thrives on open debate, but when voter turnout lingers below 50%—as in many Western elections—its legitimacy wanes. The 2023 Polish elections, with record turnout, were still called “divisive” by critics when results defied progressive hopes. In 2024, Romania’s pro-Russian presidential win was annulled by courts, citing interference—a sign democracy bends to elite will when outcomes clash.

Political commentator Carl Benjamin captured this dynamic:

The thing is with the left… they’re not voting based on policy at all, they’re voting based on signaling. It’s a performative act to show that they’re part of the good people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvXhXXLs9Fs

This signaling guts democracy’s core—voters pick tribal loyalty over ideals and morals, hollowing out debate. When courts overturn “wrong” results, it proves the system’s fragility.

The Decline of Leadership

The fish rots from its head. Leadership has faltered before the society. Visionary statesmen have given way to bureaucrats chasing optics. Decisions hide in committees or public opinion pollss, accountability lost behind walls of committees. The U.S. Department of Justice faced 2024 audits exposing $2 billion in misspent funds, a symbol of inefficiency, though only a tip of the iceberg. Globally, alliances strain—NATO’s 2025 budget disputes bared deep divides. Debts spiral; the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio hit 120% in 2024 and most countries aren't better of. Borders stay chaotic, with Europe’s migrant surges fueling unrest. Leaders cling to a “line goes up” mantra—obsessed with GDP while people suffer and culture crumbles.

Democracy’s defenders claim it ensures accountability, and history agrees—post-Watergate reforms sharpened oversight. But today’s leaders eye re-election, not legacy, leaving nations adrift. A cultural revival—classical education, national festivals—could rebuild identity, grounding governance in meaning.

A Civilizational Transition

We are in a moment of civilizational transition—political, technological, societal, and moral. History warns these moments spark upheaval. The Industrial Revolution brought wealth but also the French Revolution and communism’s rise, costing hundreds of millions of lives. Polybius’s Anacyclosis saw democracies slide into mob rule, needing order to recover. Karl Popper’s The Open Society and Its Enemies warned that boundless tolerance invites hostile forces, eroding democracy from within—a trap we’re nearing as polarized factions exploit openness. Francis Fukuyama, once democracy’s champion, now admits its stagnation since 1989’s “end of history.” As I watch the increasing divisions Otto von Bismarck’s words loom large:

The great questions of the day will not be decided by speeches and majority decisions… but by iron and blood.

Bismarck, Otto von. Speech to the Prussian House of Deputies, September 30, 1862. Available in historical archives, e.g., German History in Documents and Images, http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/.

Bloodshed isn’t fated, but change is. Democracy’s flaws—polarization, apathy, elite disconnect—signal its limits. In a new geopolitical era, with China’s rise and Western fractures, we must rethink governance to avoid collapse.

Democracy’s End and a Call to Rethink

What comes next? Many, alarmingly, push recycled socialism and communism. These are not solutions. They are last century’s horrors, recycled under new slogans, often hiding behind nice sounding ideals. Wherever they’ve been tried, they’ve ended in economic collapse, cultural decay, and mass murder. These are apocalyptic ideologies, responsible for over a hundred million deaths. To propose them again is madness. Democracy, despite past triumphs, buckles today. Low turnout and performative voting reflect distrust, not strength.

Ideas like Robert A. Heinlein’s “service guarantees citizenship” from Starship Troopers spark intrigue but need work to revive enduring systems. We need a stopgap to weather AI and social media’s age, where influence operations will sharpen.

The Case for Monarchy

Through the past few years of thinking about the future I have settled on monarchy. To skeptics picturing tyrants or storybook kings, this isn’t about reviving the past—it’s about forging stability for a future democracy can’t secure. Monarchy offers a path—not utopia, but an anchor against chaos. It’s not perfect, but it’s humanity’s most resilient system, outlasting democracies by aligning with long-term duty. Monarchs plan for generations; politicians scheme for polls.

This isn’t about today’s ceremonial crowns, drained of purpose, nor fairy-tale castles. A modern monarchy must be active, accountable, national—wielding power to unify, not oppress, tailored to each nation’s soul.

Monarchy offers:

• Continuity across generations.

• Unity in national identity.

• Loyalty, especially when tied to land, duty, and tradition.

• Freedom from partisan showmen.

Where tradition holds, monarchy preserves culture and guides through turmoil. Jordan’s monarchy has balanced reform and stability since 1946, a beacon in a volatile region. Japan’s imperial house, the world’s oldest continuous monarchy, anchors cultural identity despite modern pressures. Groups like the Czech’s Koruna Česká, Serbia’s royalists, and Georgia’s monarchist debates show this isn’t fantasy—it’s a living idea.

A New Nobility

To counter social media’s drift and global elites’ rootlessness, we need a nobility—landed, loyal, dynamic. No powdered wigs or feudal lords, but a blend of historic houses and new meritocrats. In places like Central Europe or Japan, it would mean reinstating noble houses that stayed loyal to the land and invested in its wellbeing—those restoring castles, running regional businesses, or otherwise building local strength.

This nobility would be meritocratic yet hereditary, titles renewed every few generations based on service—schools, businesses, defenses, not just wealth. It’s a shield against stagnation, fostering greatness over entitlement.

Governance by Duty

Here, a monarch and nobility lead nationally, with most citizens focusing on local elections—less divisive noise, more community and legacy. With half the West skipping votes, this might feel less jarring than it sounds. Local councils and mayors would stay elected, keeping power close. At the top, we’d trade popularity for vision.

Safeguards are key—history’s tyrants prove power corrupts. Britain’s pre-modern balance of Crown, Lords, and Commons, or the Hungarian Diet’s layered system, show how to blend authority with accountability. We’d learn from the past, using today’s tools to build better.

The Aim: Stabilization and Renewal

What are we trying to achieve with all of this?

• Re-aligning elite priorities with the nation, not with international NGOs or supranational interests

• Encouraging long-term thinking, with noble families building legacy, not just wealth

• Reducing political frenzy among the general public, freeing them to live their lives

• Restore balance—finances, birthrates, polarization, AI’s and social media age.

This is not utopia. Monarchy has its flaws, which are well known and understood. But they can be mitigated—and they are far less catastrophic than the systemic collapse we are heading toward under the current democratic model, given that we transition to it orderly.

A Word of Caution

Some scoff: “Monarchy’s dead.” But systems cycle—borders shift. Do nothing, and we’ll get monarchy or dictatorship, born of chaos with corrupt elites in new thrones—worse than today, risking guillotine revolts and even more cycles of blood letting.

Power resists change, but we must talk now. The post-Cold War dream of eternal democracy fades. In a world of rivals and AI’s sway, the West must prepare or fall. If we fail, the West will fall—and our civilizational enemies will not hesitate to take our place.

Many are already discussing and thinking up on how to tackle the big questions—if you’re intrigued, I’ll explore more in future posts.

A creative spart (writing prompt)

As an aspiring sci-fi writer I'm constantly thinking about the future. Often about the more distant one, but that begs the question, how did we get there from today? So addressing today's concerns is key. It also sparks many ideas to explore in stories of all the possible scenarios and this is where I come with some writing prompts for you to choose from.

Weave stories of a modern monarchy navigating tomorrow. Picture a monarch facing an AI propaganda storm, rooted in national soul. Or a young noble rebuilding a town post-cyberattack. Could a village revive under a local lord’s care? Imagine citizens debating duty over votes in a fractured age, or a skeptic turned ally in a monarch’s council. Your tale—gritty, hopeful, speculative—can test these ideas plug-in. For more action write about a monarchy that was just established while civil wars rage in surrounding countries. Or go a bit more into the future where the role of a king has been delegated to AI.

What’s your vision?

Sources:

1. Vance, JD. Speech at the 61st Munich Security Conference, February 14, 2025. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/14/jd-vance-munich-security-speech-criticizes-european-democracy.html.

2. Benjamin, Carl. The Rubin Report, “Sargon of Akkad REACTS to the Decline of the UK | Carl Benjamin,” April 24, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvXhXXLs9Fs.

3. Bismarck, Otto von. Speech to the Prussian House of Deputies, September 30, 1862. http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/.

4. World Health Organization. “Mental Health Report 2024.” https://www.who.int/.

5. Gallup. “Confidence in Institutions 2024.” https://www.gallup.com/.

6. Center for Strategic and International Studies. “TikTok’s Global Influence 2023.” https://www.csis.org/.

7. Koruna Česká. Official Website. https://korunaceska.cz/.

8. Popper, Karl. The Open Society and Its Enemies. Princeton University Press, 1945 (2020 edition).

9. Statista. “Voter Turnout in EU Parliamentary Elections, 1979–2024.” https://www.statista.com/statistics/300427/eu-parlament-turnout-for-the-european-elections/

10. University of Florida Election Lab. “Voter Turnout Data.” https://election.lab.ufl.edu