Hereditary Politicians

In Canada certain surnames afford political advantage, but they only go so far. Two prime ministers have stood out in Canada in the past three decades: Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney. The former is revered by progressives and reviled by conservatives to this day, and the latter enjoys the reverse.

But it's interesting to see how their offspring have gone different ways. Mulroney's son, Ben, is a smarmy celeb-TV host whose occasional political writings for a tabloid newspaper are a source of much mirth and who is mocked by much of the population. Trudeau's son, Justin, conversely, is entering politics and has much support. Some felt he could have won the leadership nomination for the Liberal Party (which his father led for many years) at the convention a year ago -- but he did not run.

Is it not a question of privilege? Family members of a certain powerful family often possess the necessary to political might to make sure the name succeeds over decades.

Is it not an indication that democratic systems are critically flawed by allowing generations of rule under one family?

Maybe it's not political might alone. Maybe it's the wealth that is often connected to political might that gives the son of a prominent politician the means to rise up the ranks. In the US it's the children of privilege who make up most of the ruling elite, along with the offspring of political families. The two often overlap, obviously.

I think you're on to something John. If Western democracies have reinforced the hereditary rise to power, then who gives them the right to dictate policies to the developing world.

Africa's problems with nepotism follows in a very similar path to that of Western countries, but then why are they brandished as lost causes when they follow a system that is inherently corrupt.