To me, the first Gallente-Caldari war was always due to economics and what might be considered a particularly Fascist/Nationalist mindset among Caldari. In many respects the Gallente Federation has very strong parallels to the old British Empire: Democracy at home and economic Imperialism abroad through its corporations and capitalism. Hell, I think most of Gallente corporations have the same level of political and social power as the East India Company did during the British Empire. Just look at Quafe negotiating with the Amarr at Giran-Fa on behalf of the Fed or the fact that Jacus Roden was able to overthrow President Foiritain when he threatened the Federal Military-Industry with nationalization.
When pieces of fiction state Caldari saying something along the lines of, "Odd isn't it how everything seems to benefit Gallente interests?" I tend to translate that into Gallente Economic Interests. The primary cause of conflict with the Caldari would have been the fact that to me, the Caldari do not make much distinction between their Megacorporations, the individual and national identity. They're all taken together. To them, Gallente Corporations acting in their own self-interests and using their army of lobbyists to get legislation passed in order to benefit themselves would have been perceived by the Caldari as an attempt at the Gallente (As a people and a nation) to oppress the Caldari (As a people and a nation). Whereas most Gallente may have viewed it as simply a few Caldari corporations upset over their inability to compete in a "Free Market." (Not really though, Gallente government/corporate collusion would have been a cause of lack of competition to many Caldari corporations).
Now would I say the first Gallente-Caldari war was a war of Liberation on the part of the Caldari? Yes. However, because the Caldari Megacorporations were also directly linked to the identity of the Caldari, what was primarily a conflict fought due to economic reasons also became an act of self-determination of the Caldari as a people and as a Nation. This is because the Caldari as a people have a very strong Fascist mindset which I'd describe as:
- A strong sense of collective identity based along nationalist/ethnic lines and shared history, culture and traditions.
- The use of that identity to create emotive and vitalist concepts of behaviour: "What it means to be Caldari."
- A concept of an individual only being a part of his People, the Nation as the representative of the People, and the State as the representative of the Nation. An expectation to subsume individual identity into that of the group and more specifically that of the Nation and the State. The emotive and vitalist aspects of nationalism are then used to give the State itself an almost spiritual or religious aspect.
- The concept of corporations as, "associations of associations" similar to how the State is an "association of associations" of individual, family, groups, people and Nation. Afforded the same sort of legitimacy over individuals as the State itself.
- Individual, people, Nation, culture, corporations and State are all taken as one under the concept of being, "Caldari."
- The concept of liberty only being used in the sense of the liberty of the people, Nation and State against external factors and not the liberty of the individual against the people, Nation and State.
- A strong sense of militarism and martial spirit - the "meritocratic tradition" espoused by the Caldari is to be found mostly in another form of organization: Armed Forces and the Military. (More particularly in a modern sense as meritocratic organization was a hallmark of Frederick the Great and the Prussian Army which has served as the basis for almost every modern Western Military.)
Which brings about another point: just as economic factors contributed to the First Caldari-Gallente war it was also a conflict of fundamental ideologies with the tenets of Gallentean liberalism and democracy opposed to Caldari nationalism and fascism. What is unfortunate is that when framed in that context it appears to portray the Gallente as the "Good Guys" and the Caldari as the "Bad Guys" in black and white terms due to modern history and bias. However, this is New Eden and I think every faction is bloody terrible from a modern western perspective and I certainly don't want to RP a Federalist that might as well be a Lawful Good Paladin smiting evil for Justice, Liberty and Democracy -- even if Mjalnar Gessenier certainly does know how to Lay his Hands on the ladies.
I much prefer playing a hypocritical corporate imperialist and damn arrogant Gallentean that goes around telling everyone their way of life is frankly terrible and that they should accept a free market model and allow Federal corporations into their lives so that they can engage in trade protectionism and subsidisation at home until no one else is able to compete and all of New Eden is united in their love of Quafe and overpriced Gallentean haute-couture made dirt cheap in some colonial sweatshop by immigrant Minmatar. I love it how it's only in the Federation they can engage in the most ruthless and cut-throat form of capitalism and the kind of government corruption it entails and still turn around and adjust their white hats and talk about Freedom and Democracy with a straight face. To me, the Federation is full of deep and fundamental dichotomies, and as to whether or not it is truly good or evil is simply a matter of in-character perspectives. That is what I find engaging about the Fed, so I'm always a bit ambivalent towards any sort of judgements that seek to portray it solely as either way when not in an in-game context.
Now, I've used the term Fascism to describe the Caldari mindset, and in many respects it does appear to fit as an ideology for the Caldari State. It is also in many respects a very loaded term in this day and age and brings about all sorts of unintended connotations because the Caldari State is the Caldari State and it's not Italy under Mussolini, Spain under Franco or Germany under Hitler. I've often had difficulty finding an alternative term to describe the Caldari mindset properly because I do know the subtle OOC subtext that arises if M. Gessenier levels the label of "fascism" against the State in his description of it IC. I personally don't find it fits in some cases regarding the Caldari and the State. I think there should be a Caldari/Napanii word for the particular ideological concepts the Caldari hold but damned if I can find it.
As for the allegations of genocide on the part of the Federation I think that's a matter up for debate and is more a matter of character perspective. It's understandable the Caldari may feel that way but an act of genocide would require a deliberate and premeditated systematic action aimed solely against the Caldari as an ethnicity and not as the citizens and armed forces of the State. The situation, I think, does not find its parallels in Armenia, Kosovo or Germany and the Holocaust but rather in the area bombardment of civilian targets aimed at breaking morale by the Allies during WW2; the fire-bombing of Tokyo or Dresden; and the dropping of atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This is not discounting the fact that the allegation may indeed be a rather hypocritical one of accusing one party of making tenuous assertions against a faction by also making a tenuous assertion, perhaps?
Anyway, meant to post something along these lines sooner but I was too busy grinding away towards a Patton and Lorraine 40t in WoT. Yes, I only drive French and American tanks. Sue me.
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Topic: Getting a better perspective on the outbreak of the first Gallente-Caldari war (Read 12193 times)