RVA: Everything That's Wrong With Foxen Prime
Look, it's my universe (albeit heavily inspired by the Vulpine from Peta Hewitt's webcomic Terinu so it tends to be somewhat idealized compared to Real World governments. Nevertheless, it does have its, er, flaws.
1. Democracy is For Other People: Foxen Prime's primary planetary government, descended from the Mother Country from POW, is a hereditary oligarchy with more in common with say, 21st century China than a parliamentary democracy like the UK. And much like China the Commoners are encouraged to get all the economic benefits they want, just so long as they don't demand too much say in the government.
This is mitigated somewhat by a definite “Don't shit in your backyard” attitude among the Nobles with regard to the Commoners. Nobles who attempt (too obviously) to screw over common foxen tend to find that their neighbor Countesses are more than happy to offer better tax rate, housing benefits, single payer health care, and free moving services if anyone just happens to want to move to a nicer District. Absolutely no Noble wants to risk a repeat the experience of Countess Greenriver, who's great-great-grandchild is the absolute ruler of her district. Which consists of a very nice manor house that's been sublet into Commoner apartments in a district that's completely surrounded by another Countess who bought up all the Greenriver hereditary lands when they were abruptly depopulated after an unfortunate series of decrees were declared by the Countess. [1]
Nevertheless, each Countess is effectively a dictator in their own district. Albeit without a secret police force.
Usually.
2. Same Goes For Freedom of Speech: As in, there isn't any. There are no laws requiring a Countess to let her commoners say whatever they want. In her district a Countess' word is literally law, and if she says a reporter has to be licensed to operate in her district, so be it.
Nevertheless, this is a more “No, except Yes” situation. The average Commoner smartphone is fully capable of communicating with satellites in orbit, completely bypassing the local MotherNet if need be. And thanks to the peculiar legal status of space stations and satellites in orbit, which are under the overall authority of the planetary government, not a single Countess [2] there are dozens of Commoner news organizations cheerfully reporting all the foibles of the Nobles to whomever wants to read them from free stations in orbit. Trying to stop the flow of information is about likely as bailing out a boat with a shovel.
Again, the backyard shall not be shat in. Most Countesses have a vested interest in projecting the image of a matronly figure who usually appears leading the opening of the annual Harvest Festival and cutting the ribbon at the opening of medical centers and shopping districts. Attempting to setup firewalls to block unflattering news items almost always leads to disaster. [3]
3. The State of Psychiatric Care is Rather Basic: See CotRV for the consequences of that. Foxen do seem to be more psychologically stable than other races, but when they snap, they tend to snap hard. And what's defined as a “psychological disorder” may or may not fit into a modern ICD-10 definition. Please note that both the Highgliders were decreed to be mad by their peers in the Council, not by anything resembling a trained psychologist, and permanently incarcerated in a mental institution. [4]
Speaking of which, the nicest thing to say about mental institutions on Foxen Prime is that they're clean and the patients aren't really mistreated. And the days where a wife can have her husband sent to one with a diagnosis of “Not Obeying Hysteria” are pretty much over.
Military Caste may have the best psychological care actually. PTSD is a recognized disorder, and screening and treatment is routine and mandatory for soldiers who participate in military actions. If Salli had actually done her Service Tour she might have had the right connections to get help much earlier than she did.
[1] Any relation to the unfortunate Count Vormuir from a Certain Other Author's Much More Famous Series is not entirely coincidental.
[2] Because the Council would rather let the Commoners have access to the High Ground rather than let a single countess get that much power.
[3] The infowall around Salli's mutilation by her husband only worked because the Council session addressing it was closed, and the information was held tight thereafter. Countess Highglider's outrage at it finally being released was entirely justified. Her commoners would have been fleeing to the Brightail district at just under lightspeed even if she hadn't so publicly lost her marbles.
[4] Admittedly modern genetic screening takes care of any genetic tendency towards hereditary mental disorders such Bipolar and Major Depression...
1. Democracy is For Other People: Foxen Prime's primary planetary government, descended from the Mother Country from POW, is a hereditary oligarchy with more in common with say, 21st century China than a parliamentary democracy like the UK. And much like China the Commoners are encouraged to get all the economic benefits they want, just so long as they don't demand too much say in the government.
This is mitigated somewhat by a definite “Don't shit in your backyard” attitude among the Nobles with regard to the Commoners. Nobles who attempt (too obviously) to screw over common foxen tend to find that their neighbor Countesses are more than happy to offer better tax rate, housing benefits, single payer health care, and free moving services if anyone just happens to want to move to a nicer District. Absolutely no Noble wants to risk a repeat the experience of Countess Greenriver, who's great-great-grandchild is the absolute ruler of her district. Which consists of a very nice manor house that's been sublet into Commoner apartments in a district that's completely surrounded by another Countess who bought up all the Greenriver hereditary lands when they were abruptly depopulated after an unfortunate series of decrees were declared by the Countess. [1]
Nevertheless, each Countess is effectively a dictator in their own district. Albeit without a secret police force.
Usually.
2. Same Goes For Freedom of Speech: As in, there isn't any. There are no laws requiring a Countess to let her commoners say whatever they want. In her district a Countess' word is literally law, and if she says a reporter has to be licensed to operate in her district, so be it.
Nevertheless, this is a more “No, except Yes” situation. The average Commoner smartphone is fully capable of communicating with satellites in orbit, completely bypassing the local MotherNet if need be. And thanks to the peculiar legal status of space stations and satellites in orbit, which are under the overall authority of the planetary government, not a single Countess [2] there are dozens of Commoner news organizations cheerfully reporting all the foibles of the Nobles to whomever wants to read them from free stations in orbit. Trying to stop the flow of information is about likely as bailing out a boat with a shovel.
Again, the backyard shall not be shat in. Most Countesses have a vested interest in projecting the image of a matronly figure who usually appears leading the opening of the annual Harvest Festival and cutting the ribbon at the opening of medical centers and shopping districts. Attempting to setup firewalls to block unflattering news items almost always leads to disaster. [3]
3. The State of Psychiatric Care is Rather Basic: See CotRV for the consequences of that. Foxen do seem to be more psychologically stable than other races, but when they snap, they tend to snap hard. And what's defined as a “psychological disorder” may or may not fit into a modern ICD-10 definition. Please note that both the Highgliders were decreed to be mad by their peers in the Council, not by anything resembling a trained psychologist, and permanently incarcerated in a mental institution. [4]
Speaking of which, the nicest thing to say about mental institutions on Foxen Prime is that they're clean and the patients aren't really mistreated. And the days where a wife can have her husband sent to one with a diagnosis of “Not Obeying Hysteria” are pretty much over.
Military Caste may have the best psychological care actually. PTSD is a recognized disorder, and screening and treatment is routine and mandatory for soldiers who participate in military actions. If Salli had actually done her Service Tour she might have had the right connections to get help much earlier than she did.
[1] Any relation to the unfortunate Count Vormuir from a Certain Other Author's Much More Famous Series is not entirely coincidental.
[2] Because the Council would rather let the Commoners have access to the High Ground rather than let a single countess get that much power.
[3] The infowall around Salli's mutilation by her husband only worked because the Council session addressing it was closed, and the information was held tight thereafter. Countess Highglider's outrage at it finally being released was entirely justified. Her commoners would have been fleeing to the Brightail district at just under lightspeed even if she hadn't so publicly lost her marbles.
[4] Admittedly modern genetic screening takes care of any genetic tendency towards hereditary mental disorders such Bipolar and Major Depression...