Why I am a Monarchist and Social Democrat

How can somebody with socialist inclinations believe in Monarchy?

King Haakon the first monarch of a free and independent Norway. The king that defined what the Norwegian monarchy should be about.

One of the oldest demands from socialist movements has been the abolition of Monarchy. The idea of inherited position and power comes across as an anachronism in a world where we believe in meritocracy, democracy and freedom. There is nothing more quintessentially conservative than being a Monarchist. Those who follow me on Medium should know from my writing that I am most definitely not a conservative.

I have written about socialism in positive terms on many occasions: What is Modern Scandinavian Socialism in 2020?

Thus it may seem like a complete oxymoron that I am a champion of Monarchy. I did not always hold this position. Ironically I did not favor Monarchy when I was strongly opposed to all forms of socialism. So what made me change?

I never followed the traditional political trajectory that so many people do in Anglophone countries, like the US. In the US, young people often become socialists or atheists in opposition to their conservative parents. That is what teenage rebellion looks like in a predominantly conservative country. But I did not grow up in a conservative country. I grew in a country marked by decades of social democratic rule. What American conservatives imagine as…