【 バートランド・ラッセル（Bertrand Russell）の言葉 r366-c240】
　家柄崇拝の最大の舞台は王室であり,それが生む弊害は英国民の想像が及ばないくらいである。国王の意見を一平民の意見とまったく同じように虚心に聞く態度が取れる人はほとんどいないだろうし,その上,王室の教育と生活環境は人間を知的にするようなものではない。イギリス国王は,政治的権力は持たないが,総理大臣に政策の説明を求めた上で自分の個人的な意見を総理大臣に対し述べる権利を持っている。平民出の政治家は見たこともない宮廷の華美に圧倒され,ほとんど無意識に国王の判断に敬意を表してしまうが,これは民衆に利益をもたらすものではない。

The greatest field for snobbery is the Monarchy, which succeeds in doing more harm than most English people suppose. Few people can bring themselves to treat the opinions of a monarch with no more respect than they would show to those of a common mortal, and yet the education and surroundings of royalty are hardly such as to promote intelligence. In England, while the King has no power to
dictate policy, he has the right to have it explained to him by the Prime Minister and to express his opinion of it privately to the Prime Minister. A democratic politician is very likely to be overawed by the unaccustomed pomp and to be led, almost unconsciously, into a deference for royal judgements, which is not likely to be advantageous to the public.
出典: On snobbery (written in Dec. 30, 1931 and pub. in Mortals and Others, v.1, 1975.]
詳細情報：http://russell-j.com/SNOB.HTM#r366-c240

(Illustration from: Bertrand Russell’s The Good Citizen’s Alphabet, 1953)