tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022769091032248225.post5652862373037237860..comments2024-03-22T08:58:54.753-06:00Comments on Hugo Book Club Blog: The Tsars Like DustUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022769091032248225.post-7131209045341993412022-09-09T07:53:50.134-06:002022-09-09T07:53:50.134-06:00A few thoughts. One, republics can be expansionis...A few thoughts. One, republics can be expansionistic. The history of the US in the 19th century is a clear example, and I would argue that Britain in the same period, although technically a monarchy, exhibited the same phenomenon. <br /><br />In a past life, I worked for a company which was buying small owner-operated IT service providers. I was amazed by the number of ways owners found to siphon money out of the company, from charging the company rent for their home office to company cars and country club memberships. Industrial-age empires are the same - the "owners" (in their own minds) of the country are using empire to siphon money from the country to their pockets.<br /><br />Second, much of the US fascination with "good kings" comes from a quirk of our Constitution. Basically, the US has an elected king. The framers of the constitution took all the powers and tasks they thought a king should do, wrote them down, and did a find-and-replace of "king" with "president." But since a President is a mere politician, some people (not at all accidentally of a conservative bent) think that a king would be above politics. Chris Gerribhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09484367221527860100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022769091032248225.post-19345037909165965872022-06-08T11:48:30.347-06:002022-06-08T11:48:30.347-06:00Part of it is narrative need - a "King" ...Part of it is narrative need - a "King" puts a singular "this is who is in charge" face. It's hard for your hero (or your villian!) to be "Congress", because then you fall into the "fighting the faceless machine" trope instead. Unless you're going full political intrigue, no-one wants to get into the nuts and bolts about "we want to save the Ewoks from falling Death Star debris, but the legislation is stuck in committee because no-one wants to vote in favor of the tax increase right before primary season...". Way easier for "Guy in black = bad, swish swish heroics yay!"Allen Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04761339272094328335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022769091032248225.post-63257782992354972082022-06-03T17:28:59.894-06:002022-06-03T17:28:59.894-06:00Many settings in SF are libertarian, it seems to m...Many settings in SF are libertarian, it seems to me, and at the same time authoritarian, and it is weird why libertarian fiction should be depicting authoritarian leadership. I think it has to do with implementing some kind of affirmative fiat in fiction: "this is the story I want to write, and a benevolent ruler is how I will make it plausible."<br /><br />Think of John Gault with a crown.Helgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08246599498097260540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9022769091032248225.post-48608859197183096222022-06-02T20:02:44.367-06:002022-06-02T20:02:44.367-06:00Tsars like dust. CLEVERTsars like dust. CLEVERPaul Weimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02444942522624902562noreply@blogger.com