Honorverse, Republic of Haven government.

[frigidmagi]

Started reading the first book in the Honor Harrington series again. Thought came to me. The People's Republic of Haven seems de facto communist more then anything else, but what about the government it overthrew, how would we descirbe their system.

There is a cradle to grave welfare system, I think that would certainly be a socialist element.

There is however a hereditary elite in charge of governing the Republic (making the label a bit of an oxymoron, as there are no elections). And this elite is committed to conquest, in fact conquest is the only way that they can keep their system going, as without conquest the economy falls apart for want of requeneve. This doesn't seem like any socialist nation I can name today (Sweden is decidely non-military for example).

So what do y'all think is the Republic of Haven has of the book "On Balisk Station" a socialist entity or something else?

[SirNitram]

Aggressive expansionist socialist, which explains how they have the resources to maintain their bread and circuses.

[frigidmagi]

Can you have socialism with a hereditary ruling class?

[SirNitram]

Can you have socialism with a hereditary ruling class?

Of course. Socialism is just what we call a large number of social programs. Even Communism, if we care to call Haven that, can have a hereditary class, as against Marxist versions of it as that is.

[frigidmagi]

Note, Spoilers.












Haven doesn't turn communist until later in the series, when an uprising takes out and kills most of the elite class and places a "Committee for Public Safety" in charge and renames the nation The People's Republic of Haven and continues the war. The PRH yammers alot about class struggle and overthrowing the enemy of the state. They also assign Commissers to naval ships to make sure Captains and other officers have the correct "political awareness and fight with all skill and effort against the enemies of the poeple."

[Batman]

Socialist feudalism. They have the welfare programs to keep the peons from grumbling but there's no way in hell any of the peons is ever going to make it into the ruling class. And if memory serves there were elections (completely farcial ones, but they happened). IIRC part of the reason behind pushing the BLS increases was that it would buy votes.

[frigidmagi]

Elections were for a lower house with no power. I believe the Hereditry President pointly called them a rubber stamp.

[White Haven]

Stage One: Aggressive Hegemonizing Socialist Swarm.

Stage Two: Extreme police-state communism.

Stage Three: More or less the US system, but built upon the foundations of the previous system, so containing maliciously corrupt officials working at cross-purposes to the government.

Really an interesting metamorphosis...and, given the end of At All Costs, one that might be up for a fourth iteration before long. The government is fragile in its early stages, and the Battle of <Spoiler Purged> is most definitely a bodyblow to Haven.