The Queen’s Jubilee: On the Monarchy

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The Queen’s Jubilee: On the Monarchy

June 2 marks the 49th anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. This anniversary is being used as the focus of the 50th anniversary of the accession of the Queen on February 6, 1952. On the occasion of the reactionary Jubilee programme designed to promote backwardness and chauvinism, WDIE is posting a number of extracts on the significance of the British monarchy.

"Events continue to emphasise the archaic nature of the political institutions and processes. Apart from the widening of the franchise, which took until 1928 to become universal, these institutions and processes remain unchanged in fundamental features since the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and its immediate aftermath. Sovereignty in Britain rests, as it has done since 1688, with what is called in constitutional terms the monarch-in-parliament, not with the people. Over the centuries which followed 1688, this sovereign power of the monarch-in-parliament became concretised in the development of the party system and the dominance of the Cabinet representing the majority party. The Cabinet of the party with the majority in the House of Commons wields executive power. However, this Cabinet can be eliminated by a no-confidence motion, while if a majority emerged in parliament hostile to the bourgeoisie it could be removed by the royal prerogative, which can bring the armed forces into the picture. It is parliament with the royal prerogative which has absolute rule and is sovereign. The only role of the electorate is to file through the polling stations every four or five years to choose between candidates already selected by the major parties."

RCPB(ML), "Draft Programme for the Working Class", 1995

"It must be recalled that the death of James I … signalled the end of feudal absolutism. At that point civil war broke out on the issue of the direction of society. It led to the execution of Charles I and on-going changes. From everything which is going on in the country today and its role internationally, it looks as if Britain is faced with another historic decision at this time. Should the old system carry on or should a modern system be established based on the requirements of this age? Do the state and its governments have the right to levy the kind of taxation as is being done today and to borrow money on their own behalf without the people having a say in the matter? It is no exaggeration to say that the vast majority of people feel the need for a modern society in which they have control over their lives, while a small minority, which constitutes the ruling circles, keeps clinging to the past."

Central Committee of RCPB(ML), "There Is A Way Out of the Crisis", 1994

"When the bourgeoisie arose, it attacked various aspects of absolutism mainly pertaining to civil rights… With the advent of the bourgeoisie in power, civil rights were provided over a period of time, and slowly and slowly the king was eliminated as the wielder of power, and this power was handed over to the cabinet. But still power remained absolute, coming from God. That is why, when they take the oath of office these days – and it is not just a formality – the President of the US, as well as the Prime Minister of Britain, swear in the name of God. This is because that power, the way it is defined and conceived, comes from God. Under absolutism, both the powers which are defined and those which are called residual powers rest in the hands of the executive or head of state. People have no power whatsoever. Britain does not have a written constitution, and for this reason the cabinet is absolute. Residual powers which normally should belong to the people in a truly democratic setup are usurped by the executive… In the British system, it is not elections which decide who has executive power."

"The democratic renewal which we are calling for would mean that the day the election takes place, the voters would not lose their right to govern. … Government will be constituted not by the Queen inviting that party which gains a majority to govern, but governance will be by those who are elected and who then decide who from amongst them will constitute the executive body. And executive power will not rest in their hands. Privy councils will be eliminated. Governor Generals or Queens or others having anything to do with this power, will be eliminated."

Quotations of Hardial Bains, late leader of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), Thematic Report, Coventry International Seminar, "Retreat of the Revolution and the Tasks of the Communist and Workers’ Movement", 1994

"The ‘glorious Revolution’ brought into power, along with William of Orange, the landlord and capitalist appropriators of surplus-value. They inaugurated the new era by practising on a colossal scale thefts of state lands, thefts that had been hitherto managed more modestly. These estates were given away, sold at a ridiculous figure, or even annexed to private estates by direct seizure. All this happened without the slightest observation of legal etiquette. The Crown lands thus fraudulently appropriated, together with the robbery of the Church estates, as far as these had not been lost again during the republican revolution, form the basis of the today princely domains of the English oligarchy."

K. Marx, "Capital", Volume I, Chapter XXVII, "Expropriation of the Agricultural Population from the Land", 1867, (English edition of 1887)

"… the subordination of the kingship to Parliament was its subordination to the rule of a class.

… the consolidation of the constitutional monarchy was precisely the thing that marked the beginning of the grand development and metamorphosis of bourgeois society in England. … First manufacture developed under the constitutional monarchy to a hitherto unknown extent, only to make room, subsequently, for big industry, the steam-engine and the gigantic factories. Entire classes of the population disappear, and new ones with new conditions of existence and new requirements take their place. A new, more colossal bourgeoisie arises. While the old bourgeoisie fights the French Revolution, the new one conquers the world market. It becomes so omnipotent that even before the Reform Bill puts direct political power into its hands it forces its opponents to pass laws almost exclusively in its interests and according to its needs. It conquers for itself direct representation in Parliament and uses it to destroy the last remnants of real power that landed property retains. Lastly, it is engaged at the present time in utterly demolishing the handsome edifice of the English constitution …"

K. Marx, "A Review of Guizot’s Book, Why has the English Revolution been successful?", 1850

"At present, the bourgeoisie and its government are in the midst of organising the thoroughly reactionary jubilee campaign to celebrate another 25 years of existence of the parasitical, racist, anti-working class and colonial institution of the monopoly capitalist state – the monarchy. … As Comrade Engels stated in an article on Britain: ‘This disgusting cult of the King as such, the worship of a completely emasculated and meaningless notion, not even a notion, but the mere word "King" is the consummation of monarchy, just as the worship of the mere word "god" is the consummation of religion. The word "King" is the essence of the state, just as the word "god" is the essence of religion, even if both words are meaningless. In both cases, the main thing is to see to it that the main thing, namely, man, who is at the back of both these words, should not come under discussion.’ This ‘man’ is none other than the big bourgeoisie, the extremely rich and wealthy section that rule Britain and have spread their tentacles all over the world. It is the big bourgeoisie that have incorporated and built up the monarchy, as an institution in the country, with all of its pomp and disgusting feudal formalities, as an integral part of its rule and oppression of the people. Through this ‘cult’, the bourgeoisie attempt to hide where actual power lies in the country, i.e. in the hands of the monopoly capitalist class and hide the state as an instrument of this class rule. Through this monarchy, so-called standing above classes, the bourgeoisie have attempted to pacify the revolutionary struggles of the people and further its plunder and exploitation, with its promotion of ‘one nation of all classes’ and a ‘commonwealth’ of nations. … As Comrade Engels stated: ‘The British Constitution cannot exist without the monarchy. Remove the Crown, the "subjective apex", and the entire artificial structure collapses. The British Constitution is an inverted pyramid, the apex is at the same time the base’."

"Down With the Monarchy – A racist, anti-working class, colonialist institution of the monopoly capitalist state", Workers’ Weekly, Vol. 4 No. 54, June 4th 1977

"The so-called monarchical and aristocratic elements of the Constitution can maintain themselves only because the bourgeoisie has an interest in the continuance of their sham existence; and more than a sham existence neither possesses today."

F. Engels, "The Condition of the Working Class in England", 1845

"The constitutional monarchy was further limited by the ‘Bill of Rights’ of 1689 when certain of the King’s prerogative powers were limited and William and Mary in accepting the throne had to agree to govern according to the statutes in Parliament. Today it is still the monarch in Parliament that is sovereign and this together with the royal prerogative gives the Cabinet absolute power."

"… the problem is not just that the political institutions and processes are out of date but their character is fundamentally at odds with the modern definition of democracy, which is to say a political system where the people themselves hold political power rather than the political parties whose role it is to keep political power from the people. In a modern democracy the people are empowered to govern themselves. The ultimate goal of modernising political institutions and the democratic renewal of the political process is the empowerment of the people and the placing of sovereignty in their hands. It is in this context that the demand for a modern constitution becomes part of the programme for the working class. The aim of the working class is to undermine and expose bourgeois democracy, so that it can take the lead in rallying all sections of society around it on this issue."

"The Line of March to a New Society", Political Report to the Third Congress of RCPB(ML) on the Work of the Central Committee, 2000