Well, for one... Louis the XVI was considerd ineffectual because he was usually depicted as rather a weak sort of king. Not really able to wield the strong centralized state in which his ancestors had crafted. *And he was also seen as an honest man, who had good intensions, but who was most likely unfit for the strong task of reforming the monarchy; He basically wasnt the best man for the job... ~Therefore, He was ineffectual, just like the question states... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~Hope this helped! Anymore questions, please feel free to ask. :)