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This has probably been asked before, but...
What kind of faction would you prefer living in? Or, to be more precise, which SE choices would you like your faction leaders to have made? Obviously, when I ask this question, it assumes that you live in [Insert Faction Here] as a common Worker, not a Talent, not a Drone and most certainly not a faction leader.
For me it's actually quite simple, if predictable:
Politics Democracy:
Bit of a no-brainer this one. Since I like to be able to have an opinion of my own, Police State and Fundamentalism get instantly discarded. Besides, I like having the illusion I actually get something to say about the governmental process.
Economy Green:
All Economy models are reasonable in way or the other. However, the rampant capitalism of Free Market makes it a bad choice. If you don't manage to make it big, you're looking at a real minimum-wage job or a lifetime of ruthlessly pursuing your Career and watching out for others that are equally ruthless. Besides, there are some days that I don't want to eat at McDonalds, after all.
Planned, on the other hand, was a very tempting choice indeed since the equality it seemingly offers provides all necessities for everyone (even though there may be lots of bureaucratic red tape).
However, I went with Green because, although it doesn't offer quite the same level of equality as Planned and certainly doesn't offer the (very slim) opportunity of lots of profit of Free Market, it is more sensible. Especially since it diminishes the chances of you getting wiped out by a mindworm boil.
Values Knowledge:
Power is just a big no. Even though I sometimes run Power to balance out Democracy and Eudaimonic, militarism just isn't me. Besides, so far, no civilisation glorifying physical strength has survived for long periods of time.
Wealth, well, it's just too materialistic and decadent. Sure, I won't deny that money is a very pleasent thing to have, but it shouldn't be the sole aim of an entire society.
Knowledge, fortunately, is not the lesser of three evils, provided we're not talking University style research here. The pursuit of technological progress and intelectual human development is an admirable goal indeed in my opinion.
Future Society Eudaimonic:
I can be short about why I don't want Thought Control: I like having an opinion of my own. Of course, perhaps, with Thought Control my needs for individuality get supressed and I'd be quite the happy little drone on the outside. However, getting reduced to an automaton is not my idea of a good time and there's always the chance that some part of me is forever aware that there really is a "me" and rages at the rest of my subdued mind. So... no thank you.
Cybernetic is a reasonably attractive option. Logical and rational, a cybernetic society may be able to efficiently cater to the populace, especially if the people are enhanced through artificial means. However, it would also be cold, sterile and soulless which is not particularly attractive.
Eudaimonic, then, is the favoured choice. Having a government that recognises the importance of individuality, creativity and personal growth seems pretty damn nifty to me. If I wanted to, I could augment myself with an MMI, but I could also try my hand at art or research whatever I wanted to without the government dictating what to research (although they're probably keeping a close eye on the willingness of any test subjects). The downside, perhaps, would be getting a lot of slackers who just sit around all day smoking the Planet equivalent of pot, but I think that's a small price to pay.
What kind of faction would you prefer living in? Or, to be more precise, which SE choices would you like your faction leaders to have made? Obviously, when I ask this question, it assumes that you live in [Insert Faction Here] as a common Worker, not a Talent, not a Drone and most certainly not a faction leader.
For me it's actually quite simple, if predictable:
Politics Democracy:
Bit of a no-brainer this one. Since I like to be able to have an opinion of my own, Police State and Fundamentalism get instantly discarded. Besides, I like having the illusion I actually get something to say about the governmental process.
Economy Green:
All Economy models are reasonable in way or the other. However, the rampant capitalism of Free Market makes it a bad choice. If you don't manage to make it big, you're looking at a real minimum-wage job or a lifetime of ruthlessly pursuing your Career and watching out for others that are equally ruthless. Besides, there are some days that I don't want to eat at McDonalds, after all.
Planned, on the other hand, was a very tempting choice indeed since the equality it seemingly offers provides all necessities for everyone (even though there may be lots of bureaucratic red tape).
However, I went with Green because, although it doesn't offer quite the same level of equality as Planned and certainly doesn't offer the (very slim) opportunity of lots of profit of Free Market, it is more sensible. Especially since it diminishes the chances of you getting wiped out by a mindworm boil.
Values Knowledge:
Power is just a big no. Even though I sometimes run Power to balance out Democracy and Eudaimonic, militarism just isn't me. Besides, so far, no civilisation glorifying physical strength has survived for long periods of time.
Wealth, well, it's just too materialistic and decadent. Sure, I won't deny that money is a very pleasent thing to have, but it shouldn't be the sole aim of an entire society.
Knowledge, fortunately, is not the lesser of three evils, provided we're not talking University style research here. The pursuit of technological progress and intelectual human development is an admirable goal indeed in my opinion.
Future Society Eudaimonic:
I can be short about why I don't want Thought Control: I like having an opinion of my own. Of course, perhaps, with Thought Control my needs for individuality get supressed and I'd be quite the happy little drone on the outside. However, getting reduced to an automaton is not my idea of a good time and there's always the chance that some part of me is forever aware that there really is a "me" and rages at the rest of my subdued mind. So... no thank you.
Cybernetic is a reasonably attractive option. Logical and rational, a cybernetic society may be able to efficiently cater to the populace, especially if the people are enhanced through artificial means. However, it would also be cold, sterile and soulless which is not particularly attractive.
Eudaimonic, then, is the favoured choice. Having a government that recognises the importance of individuality, creativity and personal growth seems pretty damn nifty to me. If I wanted to, I could augment myself with an MMI, but I could also try my hand at art or research whatever I wanted to without the government dictating what to research (although they're probably keeping a close eye on the willingness of any test subjects). The downside, perhaps, would be getting a lot of slackers who just sit around all day smoking the Planet equivalent of pot, but I think that's a small price to pay.
I'm quite sure many people here would pick the same settings (except that I would rather pick Cybernetic.)
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