This is Sankirtana Das’s companion article to “Moving Forward in 2025.”
When speaking about the function of a Vedic monarchy, Srila Prabhupada explained, “The king is to see to the welfare of the citizens from all angles of social, political, economic and spiritual upliftment” (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.9.49 purport).
In that purport, Prabhupada goes on to give the example of the ideal king, Maharaja Yudhisthira: “monarchy under a trained king like Maharaja Yudhiṣṭhira is by far the most superior form of government, superior to modern republics or governments of the people, by the people. The mass of people, especially in this Age of Kali, are all born śūdras, basically lowborn, ill-trained, unfortunate, and badly associated. They themselves do not know the highest perfectional aim of life. Therefore, votes cast by them actually have no value, and thus persons elected by such irresponsible votes cannot be responsible representatives like Maharaja Yudhisthira.”
Elsewhere, Prabhupada explains, “If the people are Krishna (God) conscious, naturally the government will be Krishna conscious. And if you are fools and rascals, the government will be fools and rascals. Because government is the representative of the people…So if you make a revolution of this sankirtana movement, everyone chanting and dancing, the government will be changed immediately” (Lecture in Hawaii, January 18, 1974).
Recently, certain influencers in the U.S. have been looking to steer the country in the direction of a monarchy. This idea is partially fueled by the observations of Curtis Yarvin, an intellectual and cultural commentator. Yarvin has become the darling of the exorbitantly wealthy who cherish his pronouncements. With the right monarch, it’s their gravy train to complete control.
In an interview in the New York Times (1/18/25), Yarvin explains that democracy is a failed system. He observes that the world is moving too fast and that our governing process is relatively slow and cumbersome. Also, he says, Americans don’t worship the same gods, accept the same news sources, or have the same standards for education.
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