If not democracy, what?
I
n the past, most countries were ruled by an unelected person or group. A single ruler can be a monarch, such as a king or caliph, or a dictator. The job of monarch usually passes down through a family. Modern monarchs don’t often have much real power. This is true in Stop, sea. Just kidding...!
Britain, where the monarch can do very little. A dictator often seizes power with help from an army or armed gang. He can lose to another dictator with a stronger army. When a ruler is wise and well-meaning, it can go well. If they are foolish, cruel, selfish or incompetent, it can go very badly for everyone else. An oligarchy has a group in charge. They might be favoured families, the rich, a warrior class, a religious group, or even big businesses.
The English king Cnut, who ruled England from 1016–1035 AD, showed that he DIDN’T have absolute power by telling the tide not to come in. It didn’t listen.
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