Anson Guthrie tells Dagny Beynac that she is "'...a natural-born, two-dominants rebel...'" (p. 155) so what does he mean by "...two-dominants..."?
The government on Earth sends bureaucrats to the Moon and allows a few elective offices. Dagny, working in Fireball administration, deals with bureaucrats and politicians and gets residents to support the company's positions. Thus, she becomes a power on Luna.
Edmond:
writes deep-space adventure fiction under a pen-name;
has revolutionized selenology;
has theories about the early Solar System and "'...a big ancient asteroid...'" (p. 154);
discusses the issue of governmental legitimacy.
He lists historical forms of legitimacy:
royal or noble birth;
priesthoods;
popular vote;
a sociological theory;
etc -
- and adds that legitimacy is lost when government does more to people than for them.
My comment:
Three Options
government doing things for people
government doing things to people
people doing things for themselves
Finally, Edmond thinks that Fireball deserves to hold power more than most governments because its masters honor their obligations to their people.
Questions:
What is the status of all those people who are not Fireball employees or dependents?
Can Fireball's masters always honor their obligations in an unpredictable economy?
Guthrie modestly says that they try. (p. 156)
2 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
That was interesting, Edmond Beynac being a science fiction writer as well as a scientist!
And I'm inclined to agree with Edmond's comment about how legitimacy can be lost, even tho I think it's too broad.
And I prefer your third option, people doing most things for themselves with no need for any gov't. And that gov't should be as minimal as possible.
I agree as well with Edmond's comment about Fireball. The company was able to honor its commitments and obligations to its employees and dependents because for a very long, long time it was headed by the same person, Anson Guthrie, both in fact and via his download. Meaning Guthrie made HIS ideals and beliefs the guiding philosophy of Fireball.
The obligations of Fireball to people not its employees or dependents are few and simple: selling them goods and services at prices they can afford, and not to oppress them. That was all.
Not just unpredictable changes in an economy can affect Fireball, but also changes in the political system it has to work with to function will affect the company.
Sean
Kaor, Paul!
“Two dominants” is a reference to genetics, I believe. A dominant gene is one that is expressed with a single copy (high school version; reality can get more complicated). For example, someone with one gene for brown eyes and one gene for blue eyes will normally have brown eyes, because the gene for brown eyes is dominant, and the gene for blue eyes is recessive; you need two copies of the gene for blue eyes to have blue eyes. But someone with two genes for brown eyes will definitely have brown eyes. Someone with two dominant genes for being rebellious, now . . .
Best Regards,
Nicholas D. Rosen
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