Paradise going down the drain
Perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea.
There's been a shift in the Marjonian climate so that most people are now unable to grow enough food, while 10% who have access to springs can produce more than they need and use that power to control the rest of the population. They also say that even if the breadfruit was shared out, there still wouldn't be enough. Besides, what's their motivation to do any work if they don't benefit from it?
The Community Council doesn't know what to do. The head of the Council suggests that hardship is a price worth paying so that no one's forced to do what they don't want to.
Is the Community Council still right?
Is hardship a price worth paying to stave off tyranny? If you're one of Marjon's starving masses, then it'd probably be tyranny all the way, although tyrants don't seem to be bothered about fairness, even the ones who claim they're acting on behalf of the people. But ordinary people are not renowned for breadth of thought, being easily duped into acquiescing to tyranny when they think it'll be to their advantage. Just look at what the Chinese Communists did in Yan'an. Instead of the place being a socialist utopia as many people wrongly believed, it was a brutal prison camp.
If, on the other hand, you've got all the breadfruit, and thus the power, you're going to agree with the Community Council. A little hardship is a price worth paying, although you're not exactly the ones paying it.
The problem for Marjon is that it's an agrarian society. The obvious thing would be diversification, although if a lot of the land is unsuitable for growing any sort of crops, there's still a problem. I can also think of another solution, but that belongs to tomorrow's entry.
Perhaps the Council need to show some benevolence by doing what I suggested yesterday – they buy breadfruit from the people who have it and subsidise the cost to those who are less well off. The growers get paid; the people get fed; the Community Council look like the good guys. Well, it's either that or a totalitarian dictatorship tomorrow.
There's been a shift in the Marjonian climate so that most people are now unable to grow enough food, while 10% who have access to springs can produce more than they need and use that power to control the rest of the population. They also say that even if the breadfruit was shared out, there still wouldn't be enough. Besides, what's their motivation to do any work if they don't benefit from it?
The Community Council doesn't know what to do. The head of the Council suggests that hardship is a price worth paying so that no one's forced to do what they don't want to.
Is the Community Council still right?
Is hardship a price worth paying to stave off tyranny? If you're one of Marjon's starving masses, then it'd probably be tyranny all the way, although tyrants don't seem to be bothered about fairness, even the ones who claim they're acting on behalf of the people. But ordinary people are not renowned for breadth of thought, being easily duped into acquiescing to tyranny when they think it'll be to their advantage. Just look at what the Chinese Communists did in Yan'an. Instead of the place being a socialist utopia as many people wrongly believed, it was a brutal prison camp.
If, on the other hand, you've got all the breadfruit, and thus the power, you're going to agree with the Community Council. A little hardship is a price worth paying, although you're not exactly the ones paying it.
The problem for Marjon is that it's an agrarian society. The obvious thing would be diversification, although if a lot of the land is unsuitable for growing any sort of crops, there's still a problem. I can also think of another solution, but that belongs to tomorrow's entry.
Perhaps the Council need to show some benevolence by doing what I suggested yesterday – they buy breadfruit from the people who have it and subsidise the cost to those who are less well off. The growers get paid; the people get fed; the Community Council look like the good guys. Well, it's either that or a totalitarian dictatorship tomorrow.
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