I'm skeptical though that a system like a monarchy that relies on the benevolence of a king to do what's right for their subjects is a better option.

I'm not sure any more. If the king feels "ownership" of the country/citizens, then it may well be more likely that a king actually cares about everyone, because people tend to value what they "own." Renters almost always fuck everything up.

Not saying that everybody that owns something takes good care of it, but people very rarely take good care of things that they don't own.