Communism in space

[nobby-w]

So, I have had a love for Stalinist Russia in a space setting. What issues if any do you see a centralized government such as this?

Nothing in particular. You could probably represent it with any type of government from 9 to C.

9 - Impersonal Bureaurcacy - Citizens mostly interact with a slow, inflexible bureaucracy.
A - Charismatic Dictator - run by a charismatic dictator with popular support.
B - Non-Charismatic Leader - run by a leader who isn't popular but holds his power through repression and purges of potential rivals.
C - Charismatic Oligarchy - run by an elite (party/politburo) who maintain a degree of popularity through extensive use of propoganda.

Decisions might be slow, but you could see power getting devolved to Moff-like regional governers or komissars.

 

[jawillroy]

Happy to see this thread. Been dabbling with a new subsector, and I'm seeing a few world where I've been considering this kind of a system in places.

Thanks!

 

[boomslang]

Nothing in particular. You could probably represent it with any type of government from 9 to C.

I would think that government 2 through 5 would also work (at least from the government's perspective if not the citizenry's), if there is enough of a cultural embrace of the ideology and the planetary population is small enough -- say, commune-sized for example.

A mining or ag colony that is a worker-owned facility might even be type 1 or 6, depending on its exact operating methodology and relationship to its Mother State.

 

[kilemall]

Really, substitute Party rank for Social Standing, Apparatchik for Nobility, maintaining a Stalin as functional Emperor-who-is-not-a-tsar, some cheka to keep everyone in line and the Soviets to provide a veneer of legitimacy and input, and we're done here.

Arguably more sustainable in an interstellar setting then Earth since it is more isolated. No inconvenient broadcasts or travel to provide comparisons.

A fun part is having adventures supporting the XYZ Gravitic Collective Factory instead of say a typical megacorps.

I also like the idea of having Soviet-style design bureaus competing for starship contracts.

 

[boomslang]

I also like the idea of having Soviet-style design bureaus competing for starship contracts.

Although I tend to prefer Art Deco motifs, I would indeed pay good credits to own and fly a Brutalist-inspired Type A2 or T...

 

[sithknight]

lmao

Necro

Sorry to necro this thread, but sprayed cola out of my nose when trying to picture a Soviet "Brutalist"-inspired 400-dton ship. So, what, like a flying brick with a big glowing red star and some bright kleig lights?

 

[aramis]

Necro

Sorry to necro this thread, but sprayed cola out of my nose when trying to picture a Soviet "Brutalist"-inspired 400-dton ship. So, what, like a flying brick with a big glowing red star and some bright kleig lights?

Wings shaped like sickles hanging off a hammer shaped body....

 

[Timerover51]

I thought that political involved discussions like this were off limits outside of the Pit.

 

[kilemall]

I thought that political involved discussions like this were off limits outside of the Pit.

Rule apparently is WWII and earlier it's on long as you don't go racist or insulting descendants or the like, post-WWII offlimits.

 

[Condottiere]

Soviet design philosophy during peacetime appears to be overloading a ship with weapon systems and sensor arrays, and unless it's a prestige class, rather poor life support and accommodations for the rank and file.

During wartime, I'll assume the poor life support and accommodations remain, but they'll have disposed of every ship system that hasn't demonstrably proved it's worth, and radically simplified production.

 

[Timerover51]

Soviet design philosophy during peacetime appears to be overloading a ship with weapon systems and sensor arrays, and unless it's a prestige class, rather poor life support and accommodations for the rank and file.

During wartime, I'll assume the poor life support and accommodations remain, but they'll have disposed of every ship system that hasn't demonstrably proved it's worth, and radically simplified production.

Actually, a lot of their duplicate systems were there to make sure that they had one that worked.

 

[kilemall]

Soviet design philosophy during peacetime appears to be overloading a ship with weapon systems and sensor arrays, and unless it's a prestige class, rather poor life support and accommodations for the rank and file.

During wartime, I'll assume the poor life support and accommodations remain, but they'll have disposed of every ship system that hasn't demonstrably proved it's worth, and radically simplified production.

Sort of doing the T34 design philosophy on ships.


Most of those ships only had coastal legs, not deep seagoing, and so for defense or SSBN bastion patrol.

 

[aramis]

Rule apparently is WWII and earlier it's on long as you don't go racist or insulting descendants or the like, post-WWII offlimits.

[m;]Admin hat on[/m;]
It's not quite that simple.

The cutoff for politics is the end of the Korean War (with the signing of the armistice) and before the Vietnam war. Several exceptions exist, and staff can grant exceptions.

Given that this continues to avoid current politics, it's fine.

Also, questions of it it's over the line should be done by using the report post button, not posting in thread.
[m;]Admin hat off [/m;]

 

[Grav_Moped]

Necro

Sorry to necro this thread, but sprayed cola out of my nose when trying to picture a Soviet "Brutalist"-inspired 400-dton ship. So, what, like a flying brick with a big glowing red star and some bright kleig lights?

Well, you could always roll-your-own Buffered Planetoid out of cast reinforced concrete.

Or look at some of the Eastern Bloc war memorials for ideas.

The "Monument to the Revolution" built in Croatia (then Yugoslavia) is an abstract sculpture dedicated to the people of Moslavina during World War II.

ludzha Monument, KRAN, BULGARIA

 

[Condottiere]

Soviet designs pre and post war had a grandiosity to them, whereas wartime and immediate postwar designs were pragmatic and somewhat plagiarized.

 

[whartung]

ludzha Monument, KRAN, BULGARIA

Looks like Jabba's second house...

 

[Enoki]

Sort of doing the T34 design philosophy on ships.

Most of those ships only had coastal legs, not deep seagoing, and so for defense or SSBN bastion patrol.

What you want to build, if you want real authenticity, is something like the Soviet Kynda class "cruiser."

You start by designing a large destroyer and then decide to call it a cruiser. You pack the thing with more weapons than it has power plant to operate so it can only use some of them at any given time and you have to switch between systems. Give it say a rail gun that requires powering virtually everything else down to fire it...

Then you reduce all the crew quarters to overcrowded bunk rooms and put them in the design dead last cramming them wherever there's space like some in the engine rooms, that sort of thing.

Reduce the fuel to a point where it has to have a drop tank to jump, but make its jump capacity high so it takes up a lot of space...

Of course, give it like maneuver 6 but it is only possible to use this when you don't have any weapons or shields online...

Then tout the whole design as incredibly effective by only quoting the high jump and maneuver numbers, the massive weaponry, and how it is so "efficient" in size. Forget that the crew suffer from lack of space and even have to all "hot bunk," or that the power plant is too small to work the ship's system, or how the computer is undersized to save space but can only be used for fire control or maneuvering the ship but not both...

Now, that would be a truly Communist designed ship! You will be getting Hero of the People's medal many times for it!

 

[Barrel]

This whole thread makes me think of Woody Allen's "Sleeper." ��

 

[leadhead]

Space Soviets

As has been pointed out, it's very hard to have a command economy given the time lag inherent in interstellar communications.

A Stalinist government on a single planet is easy enough to imagine. It could have begun as a well-intentioned experiment in Socialism gone horribly wrong or it could have been the result of an overbearing colonial development authority... there are a lot of possibilities.

On an interstellar level, some other means of maintaining a unified command economy would have to exist. Psionics offers a real possibility. The Zhodani Consulate is pretty close to a Stalinist superstate with the added bonus that Psionics remove dissent as an issue.

Unlike Soviet Russia, the proletariat is happy and content. No one challenges or even privately questions the system. The Party (nobility) have a great conformity of thought and policy position thanks to the greater understanding that telepathy can create and the unquestioned control of the Soviet (noble council) both on Zdant and each Zhodani planet make managing the command economy possible (barely.)

Psionic conditioning of the proles means each worker is content in his/her assigned job and role in society. Unlike Soviet Russia, there are no dissenting minorities, oppressed ethnic or religious groups or resentful would-be entrepreneurs. Instead, there is a happy working class that can be exploited with its own consent, making the Consulate the happiest and most totalitarian society at the same time.

 

[wellis]

Considering how...dirty nations on the road to communism often allowed things to be, how possibly poorly maintained might a lot of ships be?

Might there be issues with reactors being leaky, for example?