King Charles III has his coronation today, and it brings up a few things about royalty and empire.
Why do some love royalty? Perhaps it has to do with tradition and familiarity. And it’s also likely because of archetypes. Royalty mirrors something in us, and something important. It mirrors the feminine and masculine dynamics in us that rule the country of our psyche. Or the captain of the ship. Or, said in a more democratic way, the conductor of the orchestra of our psyche. (1)
In the world, royalty represents the accumulation of wealth from the people and a history of tyranny. In the case of the British royalty, they also represent and reflect the empire. They reflect the extraction of resources from around the world, and the suffering and work of countless people from around the world. The empire, and the British royalty, are built on the sweat, blood, and tears of innumerable people.
Another side to this is that royalty is one of the few cases where people are born into an important role in society and don’t have much say about it. (Unless they abdicate, and there is a strong social pressure for them to not do so.) It’s a kind of modern-day golden-cage slavery. Historically, it was undemocratic for both the people and the royals, and now it’s undemocratic mostly for the royals.
NOTES
(1) Just like when it comes to royalty in the world, this part of our psyche can be more or less developed, and it can function in a more or less healthy and mature manner.
INITIAL DRAFT
ARCHETYPES AND EMPIRE
King Charles III has his coronation today, and it brings up a few things about royalty and empire.
Why do some love royalty? Perhaps because it has to do with tradition and familiarity. But also because of archetypes. Royalty mirrors something in us, and something important in us. It mirrors the feminine and masculine dynamics in us that rule the country of our psyche. Or the captain of the ship. Or, said in a more democratic way, the conductor of the orchestra of our psyche.
And in the world, royalty represents the accumulation of wealth from the people and a history of tyranny. In the case of the British royalty, they also represent and reflect the empire. They reflect the extraction of resources from around the world, and the suffering and work of countless people from around the world. The empire, and the British royalty, are built on the backs, work, and suffering of innumerable people.
Another side to this is that royalty is one of the few cases where people are born into an important role in society and don’t have much say about it. (Unless they abdicate, and there is a strong social pressure for them to not do so.) It’s a kind of modern-day golden-cage slavery. Historically, it was undemocratic at both ends and now it’s undemocratic at the royal end.