The economies of the Star Wars governments

I'm currently taking a globalization and economic theory class, so I want to classify the economies of the different governments we see throughout the PT.

Galactic Republic: Regulated market - central government uses taxes and tariffs to protect industries and/or consumers
Trade Federation/CIS: seem to prefer a free market - little government intervention in market
Galactic Empire: centralized economy? I can imagine the Empire established production quotas to help keep the war machine alive and collected and allocated resources as it saw fit.
The New Republic must have kept the same system as the old one, but probably learned that more muscle may be needed to protect its citizens from ambitious companies like the TF.

Your thoughts?

 

Pretty much accurate. The Empire nationalized practically all of the CIS founding corporations after the clone wars were over. Companies that were human-run/Republic-loyal remained independent.

 

i love to argue.

having taken a few economics classes one that was probably very similar to the one you're taking now if not the same i simply can't find anything to argue with.

i'd say you've described them fairly well.

the empire is ambiguous, it could be a guided hybrid like china has or it could be a true centralized economy it's hard to tell from the OT because we don't get to see any of the 'main' planets of the empire.

 

The ANH novel-in the Biggs/Luke cutscene-makes an aside that the Empire is nationalizing more and more of the economy-Biggs tells Luke that it won't be long until even the moisture farms on Tattooine are 'slaving for the greater glory of the Empire."

 

ahhh, i haven't read that book in oh at least 15 years, i had forgotten that.

since i didn't know much about economics then i probably wouldn't have made the connection then, but thanks for the reminder.

that would make it a true centralized economy assuming they were being accurate in those comments and there is no reason to doubt it.

 

It makes sense the me that the Empire nationalized the industrial sector. It would be very difficult to move such a massive war machine without doing so. How much does a single Death Star cost in terms of raw material, manufacturing time and man hours? I don't see any other way of a government procuring so much if the industry itself isn't part of the government.

 

well, we know the CIS was pretty much nationalized. That right there is a vast amount of building capacity.

 

I always thought it funny that throughout the PT we are led to believe a right of centre Govt are the "baddies" (the Seps), where as in actual fact the left of centre Govt (the Republic) are the real evil in the Galaxy.

 

They both were evil. CIS=led by the Sith.

Republic=led by the Sith.

 

Just a quick reply to Baron-S-F, the Empire was a complete dictatorship. It wasn't a state-run economy. A lot of people confuse a dictatorship with a democratic state-run economy.

 

my economics classes taught me that you just compaired a political system to an economic system.

you can have a dictatorship and a state-run economy.

the two definately can work together.

my brother always confuses capitolism and democracy thinking they are the same, it's become really irritating to talk about to him to be honest.

 

Nice mention, I think you got me.

All I wanted to do, was highlight a right-wing bias in Baron-S-F's model. That being said, come on. You want to talk annoying? A dictatorship ("politcal" system) trumps any economic system. You cannot compare a state-run economy that's democratic to one that's run under a dictatorhip. Well, you think you wouldn't, but I hear neocons doing exactly that all the time.

 

i'm just saying that economic systems are not the same as political systems.

your point is not lost on me, i do see what you're saying but consider this.

just because it's a democracy does not imply any form of freedom or equity for the people, too often we think of "dictatorship" and think of the people as slaves, the flip side is we hear democracy and we think the people are free.

one of the most important pillars of freedom is the right to own property and to make a profit, in a state run economy you lose these to at least a degree or it's not a state run economy.

i would put forward that i would rather live under a dictatorship that practices true capitolism than a democracy that is a state run economy.

there is a fair compairison that democracy can also be called "tyrany of the majority", just because they are democraticaly elected does not mean there is a moral athority.

it is never a good idea to compair economic systems and political systems.

i like to discuss political systems by themselves and economic systems seperately, it gives us a better compairison.

 

"I would put forward that I would rather live under a dictatorship that practices true capitolism than a democracy that is a state run economy."

While I certainly don't aprove of entirely state run regimes (like North Korea), I can't agree with this.

Knowing that I can sleep safe at night without the risk of the secret police knocking down my door and taking me away means the most to me in the end.

Sure, if I lived under a dictatorship that respected civil rights I might feel differently. But to my knowledge there aren't any.

I also think that's what they fight for the most in countries like China. They care less about electing the government than aschiving an impartial justice system and gaurantied civil rights.

Its only that the two tend to come together.

 

this is where i disagree a little.

i was making a point about dictators and property rights, i'm not infavor of dictators.

the thing is one can't exist without the other, you're not going to have property rights, an impartial justice system and human rights/liberty with a dictator, i agree.

however just because it's a democracy doesn't mean you have those either.

democracy is just as dangerous to the populous as any other form of government, my personal favorite at the moment is the "representative republic" but i'm biased.

i'm not rich, don't have a business, heck i haven't even bought a house.

i would not want to live in a democracy that involves a state run or hybrid (like china is moving to) economy though.

I'm a huge fan of capitolism, "you pay your dues, you take your chances" so to speak.

Not everyone is created equaly, all i ask for is an equal opportunity to compete for my piece of the pie, those who are not as able won't get as big a piece of course. That's ok with me, just a fair chance is all i ask in life and i think that's all any of us deserve.

 

You have a good point. Democracy is not perfect and that's why we must constantly fight for our rights.

The Star Wars Saga shows what happens when you start taking things for granted. The Galactic Republic grew stale and corrupted.

But a democracy has a better change of providing freedom and justice to its citizens. It doesn't mean that it automatically will, just that its superior to a dictatorship in this regard.

And besides, entirely state run economies are very rare these days, so you'll have nothing to worry about.

I also have no problem with your "everybody should compete on equal terms" belief, as long as the losers in this process are not completely destroyed. I believe in a social safety net so that people can bounch back.

 

there is nothing wrong with that, as long as it's applied equaly.

in the USA today it is not applied equally, it is applied based on gener/sex preferences and i have a problem with that part.

what i really was refering to are ideas like Ralph Neder(sp?) had, such as an income cap, a limit on how much money someone can make before it is taken and 'redistributed' by the government.

and i am not at all in favor of the destruction of anyone, it might seem suprising but i've been on the short end of that stick. in my case i'll say this, don't ever have any personal dealings with your employer, hehe, it haunted me for several years.

really what i mean is and the USA does not have this today but it is the closest in the world to it, a market place that is not overly regulated for the sake of regulation and allows each person an equal opportunity to do the best they can.

Factors like luck, ability and drive will determine who is most successful and who is modestly successful. I'm not in favor of failure and to be honest if people try i have never seen anyone actually fail in a relatively free market. I have seen those who do not think they can do anything fail to try and thus fail, that's as close as i've seen in my life. I've seen people have major set backs and lose "everything" but if they try again they quickly regain.

you are right, in a democracy the odds are better of protecting these fundimental rights and liberties, the GFFA is a good example of what can happen in a dictatorship to these important things.