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The Republic Had It Coming December 13, 2009

Posted by Kyle in Films, Star Wars.
Tags: Coruscant, Episode I, Episode II, Episode III, Galactic Republic, Jedi, Kenobi, Science Fiction, Skywalker, Star Wars, The Old Republic
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[Cross posted @ Vogue Republic]

After having defended the virtues of galactic representative government, now I get to have fun with why the Republic and especially the Jedi had it coming.

1.) The Republic was no democracy.

When Obi-Wan Kenobi is breaking up with Anakin at the end of Revenge of the Sith, he yells, “what about your allegiance to the Republic? To democracy?” It’s a nice appeal to patriotism and emotion but it’s quite clear the Republic is not a democracy. It’s a confederacy of systems and worlds, some but not all of which are democracies. We know Queen Amidala was an elected monarch, but what about the Organas of Alderaan? Alderaan’s monarchy seems clearly hereditary and not to point fingers but after being inexplicably vaporized to make a point one wonders if billions of Alderaaneans might have legitimately questioned whether the risks undertaken by the Organas in their name were ultimately worth it.

In, Clone Wars, we see worlds that are oligarchic or monarchical and even on enlightened Naboo, the sentient Gungans were perennially excluded not just from their planetary government but galactic representation as well.

Galactic aristocrat, Senator Amidala laments the demise of liberty with “thunderous applause,” but ultimately the trillions of lifeforms represented by the Galactic Republic might’ve had more of an attachment to their “democracy” and “liberty” if they had actually had it in the first place.

2.) The Jedi were lawless d-bags.

Yes, they were. I mean does anyone actually like Obi-Wan Kenobi? Or Mace Windu for that matter?

The Jedi basically started the Clone Wars, they have no respect for things like planetary neutrality, local laws, due process, or rules of engagement. They kill when they feel like it. They trespass and destroy or steal property expediently and with no remorse. Not to mention they’ll shameless use the Force to overpower your will whenever it suits them. You know what, we have a word for that. It’s called rape.

In Phantom, Qui-Gon Jinn rigs a dice roll and frankly thank makes him suspect in about every other calamity in the subsequent podrace. In Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan and Anakin are arrested for trespassing and then indiscriminately kill Genosians on their own homeworld. In Revenge, as much as we know Darth Sidious/Palpatine is actually evil, the Jedi actually do extra-judiciously and semi-secretly try to arrest, then kill a sitting leader of the Republic. Prior to the undertaking, the only person to register this as potentially problematic is Yoda, who is characteristically vague in stating his concerns.

Most damning, however, is the bar scene in Attack of the Clones. After shamelessly mind-raping controlling a simple deathstick merchant, Kenobi just slices off a person’s arm or hand in the middle of a crowded bar and abducts them. Skywalker, menacingly warns patrons, “Jedi business, go back to your drinks.” Nobody complains. No Gloria Allred type character runs out threatening a lawsuit. Nobody films the nascent Rodney King moment.

Granted the audience has seen this before (it’s kind of Kenobi’s MO) in Mos Eisley, a city on an outer-rim wasteland – Tatooine – described as, “a hive of scum and villany.” Yet this instance occurred brazenly in the galactic capital.

What is most chilling and telling is that the passersby are either so accustomed to this kind of casual brutality that it’s unremarkable or they’re so terrified of the Jedi no one will say anything.

Later in the movie, Skywalker jokes about “aggressive negotiations” which is clearly a euphemism for intimidating people like galactic mafia enforcers. All of this is occurs before the start of the Clone Wars and the curtailment of civil liberties alluded to in Revenge.

3.) Monopolies are the true villains .

Blah, blah, the Sith, blah.

Look the true villains in Star Wars are monopolies in politics, police action, and economics. The all-powerful Republic has no checks and balances to speak of. A simple majority vote passes all legislation and can remove and replace the Chancellor. We know, from Revenge, that the Senate has given Palpatine unspecified war powers and allowed him to extend his stay in office. What we can infer from this, is that for all intents and purposes, the galaxy is ruled by a majority in the Senate which may or may not reflect an actual majority of the Republic’s citizens. No frakking wonder, systems left by the thousands to join up with Dooku after living under this kind of majoritarian tyranny for generations.

We’re also told and shown the unrelenting evil that the commerce guilds are. They are, however, precisely because they’re state-protected cartels and monopolies. Much like the 19th century’s Bank of the United States, the political power of the demos has created a publicly supported private corporation that can then independently use its resources and wealth to actively lobby against the public interest and engage in price gouging and armed occupation without limit or license.

Finally, not only do the Jedi represent an extra-legal monopoly of state police power, the Jedi Council lacks any kind of oversight. Is there any doubt that without meaningful oversight, they’d grow arrogant, foolhardy, and routinely make questionable decisions, like asking Skywalker to spy on his surrogate father, starting a war with the Confederacy, and under-resourcing their battle against the Sith. Or, for that matter, not making any contingency plans for the survivability of the order.

4.) Peace through weakness.

By not maintaining a standing army, they made the creation of one a necessarily belligerent act that substantially weakened the Republic’s ability to control the commerce guilds, secure trade routes, and later negotiate with the Confederacy (Separatists). Maybe they thought they’d save money, maybe they sought peace dividends, either way they were unprepared and insecure, which undoubtedly affected relations and sentiments with regards to the various crises we see in Episodes I and II.