> [...] form of a government that by definition serves it's people rather than a group of subjects who serve a monarch.
There is quite an interesting argument claiming that the German Kaiserreich (1871-1914) served its people better than the modern federal republic of Germany.
It cites a lot of statistics showing how the public sector swelled in the federal republic compared to the Kaiserreich. (Prussia made up the vast majority of the Reich.) Alas, it seems to be only available offline and in German.
There is quite an interesting argument claiming that the German Kaiserreich (1871-1914) served its people better than the modern federal republic of Germany.