"inequality, which deep down we all know is plain wrong." ~~~
.,,.

Speak for yourself, Al. I know no such thing however far down you dig. We are not all equal in any sense. Brad Pitt is better looking than I ever was; Karloff in his monster-makeup wasn't. I was a fairish goalkeeper in my youth, but never up to being a Joe Hart. My Uncles Alf & Dave were richer than my Uncle Hyam, but he could paint much better than either of them... equality-schmequality

Last GUEST: she is only Head of State in a formal sense, unlike an electrician or doctor who has to train & qualify; has no legislative function or power to reject laws made by those elected to do so. Hereditary principle as good as any for finding such a figurehead; and elected heads of state who are not figureheads bring all sorts of difficulties in their wakes. Democracy is probably, as the man said, a terrible system but less terrible than most others; but imperfect: don't forget that Hitler was appointed Chancellor by a perfectly democratically elected president. & she doesn't, for all the moans, cost more to maintain than the President of the USA with his White House & Camp David & motorcades & such.

Meanwhile, I say again, think of babies'n'bathwater, not fixing what ain't broke, Unintended Consequences ~~ & why not just make the best of the system we've got? Imperfect, but no more imperfect than all the others. If there was a perfect one, there would be an Arcadian Utopia somewhere in the world who had found it. Just show it to me.

~M~