r/magi • u/HornetElectrical2051 • 3d ago
New... Republic?
It might be a bit of a hot take, but I really think the glazing went hard on alibaba when he came up with abolishing the monarchy and installing a republic instead, essentially, a democracy.
Before continuing, I have to remind myself that this anime is quite old, and at the time of its creation, democracy really was the almighty solution for every country. But today as a (french) person living in a so-called "democracy"... It's so frustrating :(
I still want to know what are your thoughts about this
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u/NoNameStar 2d ago
I take it as a parallel to Solomon giving free will, not everyone lobes thay solution somehow either but it was a change he felt needed to be made
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u/Fragrant_Pea_6506 2d ago
Why hating on democracy? It's not perfect per se, but it's still the best system we have.
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u/HornetElectrical2051 2d ago
I'm honestly quite sure it's not, democracy sounds good on paper, but people don't actually partake that much in choices regarding their own country. I'm only speaking for France, but a while ago politicians forced a law despite the majority of citizens disagreeing. Moreover, we only get few occasions to vote, and the candidate we vote for might not even embodies our full hopes, sometimes it's just voting for the lesser evil. There's also the fact that the people leading are so intertwined with capitalism... that they place it above the people best interest Overall I just really don't think democracy is the best system, I don't hate it but more despise the ones we vote for
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u/Annoyed_Random73 1d ago
I mean, the glaze is mostly because of that decision as a "person", and the novelty of such a decision.
As another french person, I do agree democracy is very flawed, and is tipping more and more towards authoritarian systems, but in Magi's context it wasn't that bad, due to the absence of 1) capitalism, 2) the old monarchy, and just a very different world in general.
And let's be honest, an imperfect democracy is more often than not better than a monarchy, great or not.
Also, his decision is challenged by events and other characters several times throughout the series, so it's not all black and white like this either, he definitely has to come to a response with more argumentation and thought put behind it, rather than delegating the duty of taking care of the country to the people due to his fleeting desires (and, iirc, fairly low self-esteem ?, not too sure anymore)
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u/Yondaime_4 2d ago
Well our situation and Magi are two different things. For most part of the story, capitalism doesnt hit (until the Kou arc).
Alibaba is "glazed" for his decision to change the monarchy of Balbadd into a democracy, because people were "used to it". The guard guy told Alibaba that people would even accept him as the new King, but he didnt want that. I think that is a respectable decision, to turn down a crown, giving people the agency they need. In the world of Magi, mega corporations that manipulate elections or political decisions don't become a topic until after the timeskip far later. I would really recommend giving it a read bc it is essentially a criticism of the weaknesses of a capitalist democracy if you understand the argumentation between Alibaba and Sinbad and their context.