If Kim Jong-Un is the third in the geneological line of rulers does that make the DPRK a monarchy?

Question

After his grandfather, Kim Il-Sung gave the presidency to his father, Kim Jong-Il, one could say that was a pretty spoiled thing to do, but now that it has become an unbreakable pattern, why even bother calling thee DPRK Communist? Why not just accept that it's a Monarchy now?

scoutma53 · Accepted Answer

Yes I agree. And not just any old monarchy like UK or Belgium, but an "absolute" monarchy like before the French Revolution, when the monarch had absolute power of life or death over everyone. It's medieval.

John Do · Answer

Communism is an ideology. It's a combination of a political and economic systems. So no, you cannot have a monarchy be a communist state, since communism denounces leaders like that and supports ownership of the government by the proletariat. Also, it's been a dictatorship and the system can hardly be called a communist one, although it does have many communist/socialist aspects to how it is run.

Jeff D · Answer

You're comparing apples and oranges, however.  Communism is an economic system whereas monarchy is a political system.  They're not mutually exclusive.

If Kim Jong-Un is the third in the geneological line of rulers does that make the DPRK a monarchy?

3 Answers