Distribution Issues in Reality
Anytime one tries to categorize structure and systems there are nearly always exceptions. The point of these definitions that follow is not precision but an outline of what exists and how it exists and functions.
This thesis is based on 2 major structural divisions
1)
The Form the Sovereign takes -
Government
2)
The Economic System – Feudalism. Capitalism,
Socialism, Communism,
There is obviously overlap between the two. Nothing fits purely into the boxes. The point here is to provide an overview for discussing redistribution.
Saudi Arabia is a modern-day example of an absolute monarchy, The king holds ultimate authority. The Shura Council is an advisory body appointed by the king; it can propose laws but cannot enact them independently. Saudi Arabia is a classic rentier state: most government revenue comes from oil rents, not taxation. Saudi Arabia does redistribute significant wealth to its citizens, and one of the core political functions of that redistribution is to maintain social stability and regime legitimacy. (Free or heavily subsidized health care, education, work, fuel, water,...) The ruling family’s legitimacy partly rests on:
- Providing prosperity
- Maintaining social order
- Acting as guardians of the holy sites
(Good sources for further reading
are: Madawi Al‑Rasheed — A History of Saudi Arabia, and CIA
World Factbook)
Other countries with similar models of power are Qatar, Oman, and Brunei. others culturally similar but less centralized than Saudi Arabia: Eswatini (Swaziland) Africa’s last absolute monarchy - King appoints most of the government; parliament has limited power. Vatican City the Pope is an elected monarch voted on by the cardinals.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a Federal monarchy composed of seven hereditary emirates. Federal National Council (FNC): A consultative assembly; half its members are appointed, half are chosen through a limited electoral college. Executives (president, prime minister) are selected by the rulers of the emirates, not by popular vote. It tends to be autocratic with some parliamentary trappings Other countries with similar models of power are Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Morocco.
In Monarchies is sovereignty owned or divinely granted?
2. Autocratic Republics
Characteristics include president or ruling party dominates:
- security services
- judiciary
- legislature
- media
- political appointments
Even if elections exist, the
executive is rarely threatened. Elections without real competition.
Power is maintained through:
- elite loyalty
- business–state alliances
- security services
- regional or clan networks
Autocratic republics are crucial this framework on distribution, redistribution, sovereignty, and legitimacy because:
- They show how non‑democratic systems maintain
stability without democratic accountability
- They rely heavily on state-controlled distribution
(jobs, subsidies, contracts)
- They illustrate how sovereignty is centralized in a
single executive
- They demonstrate how institutions can exist without
real power
An autocratic republic is a state that retains the formal institutions of a republic—constitutions, elections, and legislatures—while concentrating real political authority in a single leader or ruling elite who faces no meaningful democratic constraints. (Copilot)
Communism begins with the “Dictatorship of the Proletariat.” which supposedly moves to a utopian outcome. The historic evidence in the old Soviet Union was for a super strong party, the Communist Party, typically with an authoritarian head. North Korea retains this structure. In China there was some evidence of the move away from the lifelong authoritarian head. It was reformed with political leaders moving on with a series of successions based on the party input, but this is no longer the case. The more historic orthodox party rule with a leader with what seems to be a lifetime tenor has returned.
Singapore is a much milder example in this group. It has a parliamentary system but is dominated by a single party for decades with strong executive, constrained opposition.
Autocratic republics are based on a power structure that needs to retain its power, hence the need for control.
3. Democratic Constitutional Monarchies, and Republics
Capitalism and Democracy tend to go together but part of Marx’s analysis was correct, that if left unrestrained capitalism can become an oligarchy, with the wealthy having disproportionately more power. Historically this has been the case. Government interventions like the breaking up of trusts, economic reforms favoring consumers, etc., reverse this drift however, the concentration of economic power begins anew with political power shifting to billionaires’ influence though political funding (and/or bribes). This is a systemic drift. In fact, democracies have always had a political or economic elite that have had a disproportionate influence. This elite is not constant as it (mostly) was in Feudalism but shifts as economic power shifts.
In a democracy, the raison d'être of sovereignty is self-governance. Sovereignty does not reside in the office, but in the people themselves, who "lend" it to the state.
- The Source:
Consent of the governed. The state exists only because the sovereign
individuals within it have agreed to act as a collective unit.
- The Mandate:
To protect the "Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness" of its
members. The state is a servant, not a master.
- Redistribution as Fairness: Here, redistribution is viewed as a moral
correction. It is a mechanism to ensure that the "natural"
outcomes of the market do not become so skewed that they infringe upon the
rights or dignity of the less fortunate, thereby maintaining the
"fairness" required for the system to remain legitimate.
All of these systems are in a constant state of flux. The wealthy change relative positions and influence as economic conditions change. In a market economy Adam Smith's Invisable Hand distributes greater wealth to more successful operations. Wealth can be inherited but generally it has a dynamic element, unless the system is purposefully static. Political power will almost certainly be more heavily influenced by the wealthy and wealth does not ensure political power. The political sovereign severely misjudging economic outcomes is a recipe for a change of the political sovereign.
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
• Power is personal, hereditary,
and unconstrained
• Advisory or symbolic councils
• Legitimacy through tradition,
religion, distributive benefits
Examples: Saudi Arabia, Brunei,
Qatar
CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY (Hybrid, often included with Republics)
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• Monarch retains symbolic or
limited executive authority
• Elected parliament exercises
real legislative power
• Rule of law and institutional
checks vary by country
Examples: United Kingdom, Japan, less
so Morocco, Jordan
AUTOCRATIC REPUBLIC
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
• Republic in form, autocracy in
function
• Dominant executive (president
or ruling elite)
• Managed elections, weak
legislature, patronage networks
• Legitimacy through stability,
nationalism, developmentalism
Examples: Russia, Kazakhstan,
Singapore, Azerbaijan, China, Vietnam
COMPETITIVE AUTHORITARIANISM (Hybrid )
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
• Elections exist and opposition
is legal
• Competition is real but heavily
tilted toward incumbents
• Media, courts, and electoral
bodies are partially captured
• Regime stability relies on
selective repression + pluralism
Examples: Hungary, Serbia, Turkey, Malaysia (various periods)
LIBERAL DEMOCRACY
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
• Power dispersed through
competitive elections
• Independent judiciary and
strong legislatures
• Civil liberties protected; rule
of law constrains the executive
• Legitimacy through consent and
accountability
Examples: Germany, United States,
France, Australia
The purpose of redistribution in Autocracies (stability) vs. Democracies (fairness).
Redistribution is critically important in these regimes and is a cornerstone of their maintaining power.
Will democracies move toward "Rentier States" tendencies because of the digital age?
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