Babur has become an associate member of the Polesotechnic League.
A Baburite tells Emil Dalmady:
"'We have investigated the practical effect of [the League's] prohibition on imperialism by members. Where no one else is interested in a case, a treaty with a native government is considered sufficient, and native governments with helpful attitudes are not hard to set up.' Suleiman is such a case.'" (p. 538)
Making a treaty with a government that you have set up is not imperialism? It could be regarded as imperialism but only if another League company was interested in the case! Is that what mankind is going to export to the galaxy?
I do not think that we are going to export that because I do not think that whatever is out there is going to be anything like what we currently imagine. Maybe we are on the verge of learning about inhabited and civilized exoplanets? And maybe our civilization will last long enough to preserve and act on such knowledge? But those are big "maybe"s. What future history really lies ahead?
4 comments:
In my opinion, history is unknowable -- because so much depends on low-probability accidents.
Kaor, Paul!
Intrigue and skullduggery are simply what human beings do. So I would not be surprised if things like setting up gov'ts with "helpful attitudes" are done by both humans and non-humans. I prefer to be realistic about what humans are like. That said, I agree with Stirling that the future is unknowable and is going to be shaped by "low-probability accidents."
Ad astra! Sean
Note that Prussia became the center of the German Empire because a Czarina of Russia died in her 50's.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
If Frederick's implacable enemy, Empress Elizabeth, had lived even a few months longer, he'd been toast.
Even so, Prussia might have lost the Battle of Koeniggratz in 1866, which was a very hard fought and narrowly settled thing. The Austrians and their Saxon allies might have won, esp. if Austria had not been forced to fight Italy as well. What kind of world might have come from an Austrian victory?
Ad astra! Sean
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