-Poul Anderson, "Margin of Profit" IN Anderson, The Van Rijn Method (Riverdale, NY, 2009), pp. 135-173 AT pp. 168-169.
Does a cruiser take action against "political agitators" as it does against "bandits"? I hope not. I would defend their right to agitate.
"Having landed, [van Rijn] invited himself to stay at the governor's mansion in Redsun City and make free use of wine cellar and concubines."
-op. cit., p. 169.
Three days later:
"He lounged on the governor's throne..."
-ibid.
- with a pipe and a bottle and wearing a dirty bathrobe.
Who appoints the governor? To whom is he accountable? How is he supposed to govern? Does his mansion need concubines? If he is so easily swept aside by a League Merchant (who is meanwhile raising local prices), then I would not only defend those political agitators but support some of them.
Eric Wace grew up in a slum. I expect that there is some political agitation there.
Later in history, some Esperancians demonstrate when the Terran Empire declares war on the Domain of Ythri but the demonstrators, like the political agitators, remain off-stage. A whole series could be written about them.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Well, the Polesotechnic League was founded with the goal of maximizing trade and commerce in mind. The League would prefer stable, long lasting, reasonably smooth running local political arrangements. Political agitators would tend to upset that!
Nor do I think all political agitators will be likable or admirable. Some would be as vile and loathsome as Robespierre, Lenin, Hitler, etc.
I imagine the governor of Antares was appointed by the Council of the League. And would logically be accountable to both the Council and prominent members of the League such as Old Nick. So I'm not surprised the governor was shunted aside by van Rijn. And the laughably tiny fractional increase in prices was meant by Anderson to give us some comedy.
Sean
Sean,
I did comment in one of the earlier posts that the small price increase was typical van Rijn: small enough to be affordable and to make people do no more than grumble for a while.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I doubt that tiny increase amounted to more than one hundredth of a credit per unit price! So I doubt anyone would even grumble. The real profits would come thru economies of scale.
Sean
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