Two-part post because it's too long!
Sigmund Sandoval, on 02 May 2012 - 09:22 PM, said:
The current incarnation of the Federated Suns government is a far cry from the idealistic and somewhat democratized republic that Lucien envisioned. Through time and quite a bit of conflict, House Davion discovered that at a certain level, an interplanetary government requires a firm and unquestioned hand to lead it. During times of relative peace, more egalitarian attitudes and ideals may be practiced, but in a galaxy that has known only war for so many hundreds of years, it only leads to divisiveness, indecisiveness and internal turmoil. Thus the Federated Suns government has become more centralized around the First Prince as it has evolved during the Succession Wars.
Oh, good! At least you admit to having a leader who's a dictator at best and a tyrant warlord stringing along an armed cult of personality on other days.
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The Federated Suns at a galactic level is a Neo-Feudal constitutional monarchy ruled by the First Prince, his Dukes and the Ministries that govern the bureaucracy. All of these positions are hereditary or appointments, none are elected.
Sad. The Davionistas need the excuse of "my father did it" to stay on a chair. That or "my father's friend did it". So who you are and who you know is more important for landing a job than any sort of dedication to a higher cause, huh? Pitiful.
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Although there are systems in place that allow the common citizenry to request the removal of an unsatisfactory lord (which has occurred on several occasions), these decisions are still made by the feudal masters that lie higher up the chain. Although the Federated Suns has known its tyrants, for the most part the monarchy understands that they have a responsibility to the populace in order to avoid greater challenges to their domestic peace. In other words it's in their best interest to keep the general populace safe and happy.
In other words, to keep them uneducated and ignorant enough to not figure out that you're too busy waging egomaniac wars to take care of them.
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What we fail to see in this discussion is that just about every type of governmental "philosophy" is represented in the Federated Suns. One of the few things that hasn't changed from the original Crucis Pact is the general autonomy given to the governance of the individual planets within the Federation. You can find planets ranging politically from Soviet Communism, to French Socialism to the far more popular British parliamentary system. All are represented on a planetary level. So the discussion of these political systems is moot in the fact that both the Capellan Confederation and the Federated Suns are run by monarchies, which by their very nature despotic at least at a galactic level.
What I find important to mention here is that this is also true for the Capellan Confederation, except on a cultural level. Dukes, Duchess, and Mandrinns are all free to tout whatever sort of neo-civilization they like, as long as they manage to make the best use of their world's resources for the Confederation.
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Although the popular belief is that the Capellan Confederation is a police state, that is a half truth. Most citizens of the confederation enjoy most of the same basic freedoms as a citizen from the Federated Suns as they live their day to day lives. The main difference is one of philosophy and public education.
No, the main difference is one of social mores. The Korvin Doctrine, Sarna Mandate, and Lorix Order just make the Confederation's social mores look prettier by describing them with flowery words on paper (digital file, whatever).
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The Liao state promotes two main doctrines that define their socio-political structure. First is the Korvin Doctrine, which stresses the subordination of the individual to the a Greater Humanity, or in essence to the state. This concept is anathema to the ideals of individualism, personal freedom, expression and development that are extolled in the Federated Suns.
Where is your connection between the two here? The Korvin Doctrine doesn't care what the frag you do as long as it's appreciated. Looking further into your paragraph....
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The second is the Sarna Mandate which dictates that the military, scientific and political elite of a given society are the only ones capable of governing, which is used to justify the Capellan social caste system. The concept of being able to climb social strata through education and service is central to the beliefs of the average Federated Suns citizen, beliefs that cannot function within the Liao state
Sir, you have completely and utterly missed the entire point of the Sarna Mandate. This is the very document that speaks to social mobility in the Confederation being within everyone's reach! The castes are there so that you know you've been promoted when you do something good. The door is completely open for becoming part of the elite in the Confederation, you just have to show that you can handle the job for others to see. You don't have to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth like in the Suns. It's all about the meritocracy in the Capellan Zone, baby! Work hard, study hard, and train hard, kids!
Oh, and by the way. Education? In the Suns? AAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. I LIKED THAT ONE, TELL IT TO ME AGAIN. For the masses in the Suns, you're lucky to do anything more than farm weeds unless you have the connections and the resources. If an agent or an inquirer finds a Citizen going above and beyond in the Confederation, that Citizen gets remembered and directly reported to those who can give him or herself a better position in society.
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(as a side note there have been several situations where commoners have risen to the status of a nobleman or woman. This is of course uncommon, but has happened).
Of course, those stories about your Davionista dirt farmers.
Edited by Youngblood, 05 May 2012 - 03:49 AM.
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