Lunarians do not accept:
democracy;
the equal worth of all human beings;
"common heritage" in celestial bodies;
income tax;
any obligation to relieve poverty or to address any other Terrestrial problems;
government information-gathering activities like censuses;
the rule of law.
They lack skillfulness in political negotiation and compromise and regard Terrestrial government of the Moon as foreign, even alien, occupation and exploitation.
It makes no sense to design a new species to inhabit an extraterrestrial environment, then to impose Terrestrial laws on that species. Perhaps separate development and peaceful coexistence are a realistic goal? I do not agree with "separate development" (Apartheid, segregation, partition, Zionism etc) for different groups of human beings but the Lunarians are a different species. And it is questionable whether a genus adapted to live in Lunar gravity would develop the kind of psychology that Anderson imagines for his Lunarians. Are they a new race or just idealized feudal lords and retainers and Tolkienian Elves?
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I don't think we can fairly say the Lunarians reject the rule of law. It would be more accurate to say they wanted to govern themselves by their own laws and customs. So, yes, it would be unreasonable for the World Federation to force on them the laws of unmodified human beings. Better to let a Moon inhabited by Lunarians to go its own way.
If the social organization Lunarians preferred look liked an idealized feudalism morphed with Tolkienian elves, that would because Anderson was trying to conceive of a truly different hominid species.
Nor do I agree with including Zionism alongside apartheid and segregation. Recall what Stirling said about that, comments I have agreed with.
Sean
Sean,
The Zionist philosophy is that Jews and Gentiles cannot peacefully coexist, therefore the former need to live separately. Also, Palestinians are currently treated as unequals in Israel. (Subsidiary points: championing Palestinian rights does not involve defending every past dumb decision by Palestinian leaders or supporting anti-Semitism.)
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I'm sorry, but I disagree with you. And it's not just dumb decisions by a few Palestinian leaders which is the problem. The problem is ENTRENCHED hatred of Jews inculcated by Islam itself and passionately believed in by all too many Palestinians. And Israel SHINES compared to all its thuggish neighbors, despite her own faults.
Sean
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