Talk:Slane Theocracy/@comment-2601:193:4180:4098:1171:CBCC:C135:BD95-20180705134048/@comment-45.56.46.26-20180706215111

The problem is essentially that a theocratic royalty concentrates too much power in the bloodline, so they usually collapse after a few generations. What you have is a dynamic something like North Korea (which is only nominally anything other than a theocratic monarchy), with each successive generation becoming even more hilariously inept and unhealthy till eventually the whole system collapses.

Fundamentally, it's better for the long-term functionality of society to ensure that there is enough social mobility that positions of power don't inevitably get filled by whoever happens to be born into them. Nobility requires that there be ways to purge incompetent nobles, royalty needs oversight to prevent unsuitable monarchs. A non-hereditary religious order can provide that, but a full theocracy would tend to directly replace all those hereditary spots with high-ranked clergy.