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Full Idea
Wherever a man is placed for life at the head of a social organism, he ought to be a symbol and not a ruler, as is the case with the King of England.
Gist of Idea
A lifelong head of society should only be a symbol, not a ruler
Source
Simone Weil (The Need for Roots [1943], I 'Obedience')
Book Ref
Weil,Simone: 'The Need for Roots' [Routledge 2002], p.14
A Reaction
Nice to hear a radical French thinker endorsing an ancient British tradition! She may not be endorsing a lifelong head of state. Lifelong rulers are the main agents of totalitarianism.