Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by tanksoldier

However, it would be entirely possible for a government formed by a slave revolt which outlawed slavery in the most absolute terms to HAVE legal slavery in some form 300-500 years later.

Though the names would be carefully changed. Governments avoid things that are overtly against their founding myth.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Though the names would be carefully changed. Governments avoid things that are overtly against their founding myth.

Probably. Though it is not impossible for descendants of a slave revolt to enslave others and not think anything of it. They just need a tribalistic rather then a universalistic mentality.

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

... Though it is not impossible for descendants of a slave revolt to enslave others and not think anything of it...

I'm reminded of the central theme of Pedology of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire, which is, IMHO, that people will replicate an injustice upon others, which they have previously experienced.

Warning; contains large slabs of Marxism. (Just so you know...)

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Probably. Though it is not impossible for descendants of a slave revolt to enslave others and not think anything of it. They just need a tribalistic rather then a universalistic mentality.

This could well be because historically, the main basis for slavery has been a combination of "who else will do it?" and "sucks to be you!" - and moral systems with the capacity, desire and authority to outlaw slavery are rare.

[David Johnston2]

A constitutional republic in which the elected executive is ritually sacrificed at the end of his term in office. (And yes the Fallout vault in question only lasted 18 years before destroying itself.)

[ak_aramis]

Originally Posted by Michael Cule

I've seen a variant of that as a less militaristic version of the Federation Service in STARSHIP TROOPERS (the book). Voluntary service, with a chance of being offered a permanent career, for two years in return for citizenship.

Mostly people tell me this is a Bad Idea.

Monastic service?

In several southeast Asian nations, monastic training is an alternative to secondary education and compulsory service; the training regimen for youthful monastics is useful skills as well as theology and meditation... it's a long commitment to avoid service to the country by other means, but the social impact of higher moral development and the pacifist but activist bent of buddhist monastics being distributed into the general population is seen by the governments as a public good.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

A constitutional republic in which the elected executive is ritually sacrificed at the end of his term in office.

The obvious response is to try and elect a sacrificial figurehead.

[David Johnston2]

A "benevolent" dictatorship which requires the dictator to wear a living"crown" which kills a wearer it judges as abusing power or neglecting responsibility.

[Irish Wolf]

Originally Posted by Anthony

The obvious response is to try and elect a sacrificial figurehead.

Pretty much the way it worked out in Vault 11, yeah. When the lockdown came, the residents were told that after one year they had to execute the current Overseer and elect a new one, or the computer would release toxins into the air and kill them all. They formed voting blocs, and started nominating people for office who they believed deserved to die. It all fell apart in the end, and when the last five survivors decided not to elect one of them to die, the computer rewarded them for their selfless sacrifice by opening the door. (Unfortunately, as they were certain they were going to die anyway, four of them had committed suicide by then.)

Vault-Tec was composed almost exclusively of heartless bastards, you see, who regarded imminent nuclear war as an excellent opportunity to conduct horrific experiments on human subjects. Only a few Vaults were kept free of such experiments, as controls.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

A "benevolent" dictatorship which requires the dictator to wear a living"crown" which kills a wearer it judges as abusing power or neglecting responsibility.

You mean a dictatorship of a living crown with zero controls or limits on its rule and a terrified hostage functioning as their chief administrative officer.