noxfoxarts asked:
ladyvean answered:
Unpopular opinion time:
I’m not convinced that they are 100% totalitarian. It certainly has elements of that, but it also has socialist elements as well.
Overall, I don’t think we’re given enough information in canon (and by canon, I mean the show and not the books) to make a good judgement on Cardassian society and government, as experienced by a Cardassian citizen.
To be clear, I think occupying and strip-mining other worlds, enslavement and genocide of other species, and other elements of what we HAVE seen in canon are bad things. I just think the situation is not as black and white as “they’re totalitarian.”
Good one!
I personally think they’re very much communist and place the group above the individual by far (all this stuff about doing their duty, acting “like a Cardassian,” the importance of family, etc). As such, it’s not all bad. People can be happy under a totalitarian regime, because joy is needed to stay alive, and in the face of adversity, finding joy might very well be a vital skill.
I think Cardassian society is harsh, full of paradoxes, and that all this authority that would, no doubt, be nothing but abuse and trauma for most aliens, does find a purpose in Cardassians. It still comes with abuse and trauma, but order makes it bearable for the group – not for the individual, but since the group is the identity, the group is what must remain functional for the individual to keep on functioning. To them, it’s not totalitarianism; it’s what they have.
I find this idea somewhat terrifying but fascinating at the same time. It has good sides, and lots of bad sides too.
You make some interesting points! Remind me to respond to this when I am not half asleep.
