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So, in my last post, I talked about how living in a near-future space colony would be more like living in a condo association then the libertarian paradise portrayed in classic SF. I also mentioned that this could lead to the development of a titled aristocracy.
First, a little understanding of how aristocracies came to be in Europe, where we are most familiar with the term. Essentially, the ingredients for aristocracy there were:
1) Small, largely autonomous settlements.
2) Under external stress.
3) Interpersonal relationships leading to somebody being designated the leader for life. (The title "Duke" comes from the Latin word dux, which simply means "leader.")
4) The passage of time.
The first ingredient, small and autonomous, I've spoken of before when I talked about colonies using flags of convenience. Ingredient #2, under stress, would not be much of a reach for a colony millions of miles from Earth on a world with an unbreathable or no atmosphere. Point 4 is obvious.
Which leaves point #3, interpersonal relationships. There are several ways you get leaders for life. They are:
Who Will Do It? Being mayor of a small town or president of the condo association is a shitty job. Long hours, low pay, you get lots of people bitching at you and few words of thanks. As long as the incumbent is doing a decent job, there's not a lot of competition for it, and frequently the competitors that do show up are obvious flakes. (I am thinking of the last contested election at my condo board, a few years back.) There's a tendency to leave the job to whoever will do it, and if their kid gets groomed to step in, few will mind.
Who's Got The Cash? Small towns tend to be single industry places. If the mine owner or whoever controls the key industry wants to, they can run the place either directly or by using the "elected" officials as their front men.
The Voice Of God Some number of space colonies are going to be founded by people who have Received The Word (tm), be it from God or some other entity. And if you have a direct line to the Almighty, who needs a stinkin' election? The Founders children may or may not inherit the direct line, but whoever gets to be the next Grand Poohbah probably didn't have to kiss a lot of babies.
Because I Said So One of the stressors of early Medieval Europe was the general lawlessness. Armed bands of men roamed the countryside, and whoever the leader was, being able to fight and defend the settlement was a critical success factor. More than a few nobles got that way by surviving the most recent attack.
Although violence is always possible, the complexity of keeping the colony running can lead to a lot of "non-violent" problems. Image, for example, trying to survive after a fire screws up your air filtration system and pollutes your water reserves. In those types of situations, a good crisis manager who steps up from the survivors could end up being "the leader" for as long as they want the job.
First, a little understanding of how aristocracies came to be in Europe, where we are most familiar with the term. Essentially, the ingredients for aristocracy there were:
1) Small, largely autonomous settlements.
2) Under external stress.
3) Interpersonal relationships leading to somebody being designated the leader for life. (The title "Duke" comes from the Latin word dux, which simply means "leader.")
4) The passage of time.
The first ingredient, small and autonomous, I've spoken of before when I talked about colonies using flags of convenience. Ingredient #2, under stress, would not be much of a reach for a colony millions of miles from Earth on a world with an unbreathable or no atmosphere. Point 4 is obvious.
Which leaves point #3, interpersonal relationships. There are several ways you get leaders for life. They are:
Who Will Do It? Being mayor of a small town or president of the condo association is a shitty job. Long hours, low pay, you get lots of people bitching at you and few words of thanks. As long as the incumbent is doing a decent job, there's not a lot of competition for it, and frequently the competitors that do show up are obvious flakes. (I am thinking of the last contested election at my condo board, a few years back.) There's a tendency to leave the job to whoever will do it, and if their kid gets groomed to step in, few will mind.
Who's Got The Cash? Small towns tend to be single industry places. If the mine owner or whoever controls the key industry wants to, they can run the place either directly or by using the "elected" officials as their front men.
The Voice Of God Some number of space colonies are going to be founded by people who have Received The Word (tm), be it from God or some other entity. And if you have a direct line to the Almighty, who needs a stinkin' election? The Founders children may or may not inherit the direct line, but whoever gets to be the next Grand Poohbah probably didn't have to kiss a lot of babies.
Because I Said So One of the stressors of early Medieval Europe was the general lawlessness. Armed bands of men roamed the countryside, and whoever the leader was, being able to fight and defend the settlement was a critical success factor. More than a few nobles got that way by surviving the most recent attack.
Although violence is always possible, the complexity of keeping the colony running can lead to a lot of "non-violent" problems. Image, for example, trying to survive after a fire screws up your air filtration system and pollutes your water reserves. In those types of situations, a good crisis manager who steps up from the survivors could end up being "the leader" for as long as they want the job.
