The Deficiencies of Traditional Democracy — and the State of the Future

Inspired by Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, “The State in the Third Millennium”

Indirect democracy remains power politics.
Even with elections, real power often lies in a symbiosis of monarchy and oligarchy. From the outside, it’s unclear who truly governs — presidents, party leaders, financiers, judges, or parliaments. The form of legitimacy changes, but the structure of control stays the same.

Why nationalism and socialism rose.
Because oligarchies resisted giving people more power, populist ideologies filled the void. Emotion and ideology mobilized the masses more easily than rational democratic reform. The result: ever-expanding bureaucracies, layers of laws, swelling taxes, and debt cycles whenever tax cuts were politically popular.

Globalization makes old ideologies obsolete.
Nationalism and socialism are two sides of the same worthless coin. Global integration erodes their meaning. Free trade creates shared prosperity; protectionism and subsidies may look patriotic but impoverish nations in the long run.

The state is not a company  it’s a monopoly.
The common analogy of “state as enterprise” fails: shareholders can sell their stock citizens can only emigrate. Modern states behave like private monopolies, writing the rules, acting as both referee and player. This leads to vote-buying politics, short-term promises, and long-term crises.

The path forward:
If oligarchy dominates, the only solution is to strengthen monarchy and democracy  not as nostalgia, but as balance.

A constitutional monarchy with democratic legitimacy allows long-term stability beyond election cycles.
Direct democracy and local self-determination give real power back to communities.
Only then can the state become a service organization for its people, not an instrument of exploitation.

The state as an aircraft.
When a plane crashes, we improve the design, not just blame the pilot.
Likewise, we need structural redesign, not scapegoating. The goal: systems that are safe, resilient, and serve all.

The blueprint for the future state:

Prevent wars and civil wars.
Serve the entire population, not elites.
Ensure maximum democracy and rule of law.
Compete peacefully in a globalized world.
Decentralization is the key.
A future state must abandon its territorial monopoly.
Power should be delegated to small, autonomous communities that can govern or even “exit” peacefully. Small units lower the risk of violent secession, increase accountability, and accelerate reform.
Liechtenstein itself proves the model works: small, sovereign, stable, and cooperative.

Realism over utopia.
History shows that idealistic state utopias collapse under human nature.
But direct democracy and local autonomy provide a pragmatic mechanism to keep power honest, peace sustainable, and freedom real.

The state of the future is not a fortress but a network of service communities, competing by quality, not coercion.

Essence:
Indirect democracy without local participation or exit options degenerates into oligarchy.
The state of the third millennium must be decentralized, competitive, accountable  a structure that finally serves humanity rather than ruling it.