The Tyrant and the Emperor
Okay, when I said I would address this issue "tomorrow," I clearly meant "before next year." So, here we go.
In response to my last entry, in case you missed it, my friend Marten asked the following:
So is Palpatine comparable to Vetinari, because he plans things out, or not at all because he is evil? It hurt people, but you can't deny that the Empire was efficient. The same really goes for Ankh Morpork. Is it cicumstance, the difference between how the two came to power? The Republic was failing, Palpatine wasn't lying about that. Perhaps he should have manipulated the Jedi in a different way, turning them into the Watch, but I don't know enough about the actual Empire. To me, other than Palpatine's means of becoming the Emperor, it doesn't seem all that oppressive. It blew up planets, but to quell a rebellion. We have used military force for similar things, the only difference is that the rebellion failed. I can sympathize with Padme and Anakin and agree that Palpatine is evil for the purpose of the story, but what was the Empire? Why was there a rebellion? How did the Empire oppress?
Well, to begin by stating my thesis-- No. Palpatine and Vetinari are not the same. Neither are the Empire and Ankh-Morpork. It is true that Palpatine and Vetinari do use similar methods. They both plan things out, they both manipulate, they both use a Machiavellian procedure. The main point of difference lies in their motives. Whether or not an act or a person is virtuous truly depends, more than anything, on motives and intentions. Believe me. I learned this from Aristotle. In Lyceum junior year, we discussed what makes a person evil. Lust for power came up as a component (though certainly not the only one). So what is the difference between a good ruler and a bad ruler? The bad ruler, the evil person, will never be satisfied with the power he has. And he wants that power for himself, to work for his own ends. The good ruler accepts his power for the good of others, for the country or the city or the world as a whole. He does not work selfishly, but selflessly. (I will admit that I came up with this -- we were reading Othello-- by mentally comparing Palpatine and Amidala as rulers. But that's another story, perhaps for another time.) In comparing Palpatine and Vetinari, it becomes quite clear that what Vetinari does, he does for the love of Ankh-Morpork. He rules the city-- not seeking to conquer the whole Disc, mind you, just that one city-- in such a way that quality of life is improved. Everything he does is done to make Ankh-Morpork work, and he rules it because he is the only one who can make it work in that way. He goes without sleep and without food and without companionship to make sure Ankh-Morpork runs. He creates the Guilds in such a way that everyone has representation, everyone has certain rights. These Guilds have a say in running the city-- in fact, Vetinari has to be careful about appeasing them in certain matters. He sees the need for the Post Office to resume its functioning, and so the Patrician hand picks the man he sees as best for the job, even if he is a criminal. And it works. He welcomes new ethnic groups into his city and sees that they are represented in organizations such as the Watch. He mercilessly prods Sam Vimes into situations he finds to be unpleasant because Vimes can be relied upon to achieve a certain effect. He sees the heir to the throne of the city arrive and does nothing about it because Carrot is helping the city to run. The people of Ankh-Morpork know what it is like to be ruled by tyrants. Laughing Lord Scapula, Homicidal Lord Winder, Mad Lord Snapcase... There have been multiple revolutions in the city's history. Vimes's ancestor personally beheaded King Lorenzo the Kind and, certainly, if Samuel Vimes felt tyranny was taking place, he would be the first to march up to the Palace and do something about it. He has arrested Vetinari once-- the Patrician allowed himself to be arrested! There have been several feeble attempts to do away with Vetinari, but they never get very far because the Guilds recognize that Vetinari has a talent no one else has mastered for running Ankh-Morpork. The Assassins have taken him off the list. Because, as Lord Rust so eloquently puts it in Men At Arms, "anyone else would be worse, yes? We've certainly had some... difficult ones." Or, as Lady Selachii says, "He is a very unpleasant, jumped-up little man, but I would not say he actually terrorizes much. Not as such."
Now, let's look at Palpatine, and answer the question of what the Empire does that's so bad. Yes, it's efficient. So was Hitler's regime. And there is more than one way to destroy a planet. Now, it's true that the Republic was failing. But it would not have failed so quickly, or come beyond a point where it was reparable, without Palpatine's little... influences. Amidala had the right idea, trying to reform the whole big mess from within, not overhauling it and replacing it with a dictatorship. You say that Palpatine and the Empire did what they did to quell a rebellion. Do you think there would have been a Rebellion if the galaxy had truly worked under Palpatine's rule? If it had been fair and just? I want to look at the passage at the beginning of the novelization of A New Hope:
"Aided and abetted by restless, power-hungry individuals within the government, and the massive organs of commerce, the ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected [Chancellor] of the Republic. He promised to reunite the disaffected among the people and to restore the remembered glory of the Republic. Once secure in office he declared himself Emperor, shutting himself away from the populace ... and the cries of the people for justice did not reach his ears. Having exterminated through treachery and deception the Jedi Knights, guardians of justice in the galaxy, the Imperial governors and bureaucrats prepared to institute a reign of terror among the disheartened worlds of the galaxy. Many used the imperal forces ... to further their own personal ambitions."
Does that sound to you like a galaxy that works? That functions for the greater benefit of all? You say that Palpatine could have manipulated the Jedi in another way, as Vetinari uses the Watch, but for Palpatine there was no other way. He was a Sith Lord. The mission, the sole purpose of the Sith for a thousand years, had been to destroy the Jedi. So, once he was in control of the galaxy, the Jedi were destroyed. Not for the good of anyone else. Those innocents-- the Jedi Masters, Knights, Padawans, and children-- were slaughtered and hunted down and murdered simply because he wanted them to be. Because he did not like them, and because he wanted revenge. He never thought of using his power as Chancellor to help the Republic and the galaxy. He used his power as Chancellor to declare himself Emperor and become the ultimate power. I said earlier that there is more than one way to destroy a planet. Before the Death Star was ever completed, the Empire was killing worlds. Killing their cultures first. Alien races-- the Wookiees, for example-- were frequently enslaved. They were no longer represented in the government. Or they, like the Jedi, were simply wiped out. If a planet existed whose people were troublesome, that planet was invaded and ravaged and left desolate. If a planet existed which contained valuable resources, those resources were drained and the world was left a trampled mess. Those things which made individual worlds so unique and beautiful in their own rights were forbidden, erased. The Empire sought to mechanize everything, make everything uniform and ugly. Look at the stormtroopers-- identical armor covering identical clones. Everything in the Empire is black and white, metallic and lifeless. These designs and environments are small representatives of the aim of the Empire itself. Above all else, the Empire sought to wipe out freedom. Any freedom. And the aim of all of this was power and control. Palpatine wanted power, and he wanted to cause fear and horror, because that is what a Sith desires. A reign of terror.
Is it any wonder, then, that there was a Rebellion? "A small number of star systems rebelled at these new outrages. Declaring themselves opposed to the New Order they began the great battle to restore the Old Republic."
Finally, you ask if it was circumstance. I don't know. I am inclined to say yes, simply because everything depends on circumstances. But can I imagine Vetinari, as Pratchett writes him, stepping into Palpatine's role? No. I agree that he walks a very fine line, and that if he crossed it, things could be very bad indeed. Very frightening. I wouldn't want to hang around Ankh-Morpork if it happened. But, as things stand, I hope you can now see the difference, and understand what I'm trying to say. If that doesn't answer your questions, just let me know and I will answer. This is, clearly, something in my fandom-world that I feel very strongly about.
See Compendium for my "What Kind of Christmas Has It Been?" report and my review of the Phantom of the Opera movie.
Happy New Year to all!