I mentioned Transhumanism in passing because I think it is inspired by aliens. By all indications, the Orion Union was playing the galactic conquest game millions of years before Terran humanity learned to stand upright. An extraterrestrial civilization with that kind of expereince would know how to make CRISPR editing procedures that really work, and how to merge technology with biological systems seamlessly. It's kind of a crapshoot for 3D humans because they are unaware of the way psychic realities and subtle energies interface with biological systems; thus they operate under all kinds of erroneous assumptions. All of the Transhumanist fantasies about altering genetics to become quasi-immortal, implanting computer crystals into one's brain to increase one's processing power by orders of magnitude, and having an always-on neural interface to control all of the surrounding technology by thought is probably a reality for aliens, at least the higher castes. This knowledge can be used for upgrading or downgrading bodies. So the rulers get all of the upgrades, while the labor class is given upgrades which fortify some attributes and weaken others. An example would be an implant that makes one super strong, but impedes higher cognitive function and links up to a central command center where the controllers can emit a signal which essentially scrambles your neural signals and sends you into a coma at will. Such a person with this type of implant would be unable to function in the same environment as one who has an implant for enhanced intelligence, even though they are manufactured from the same biological base they would be some type of Neanderthal only useful for manual labor.
There seems to be some evidence that aliens use some purely mechanical servants, but they seem to shy away from relying on them too heavily. I think the reason is that machines are stupid, they cannot really transduce the conscious energy of the universe; they can only imitate. 4D seems to prefer to merge organics with synthetics to create semi-robots that are still able to interact with the consciousness field, even if they keep little of it for themselves; they are an extraction medium. Since this energy fulfills the same role as money, these "biosynthoids" are seen as a better investment than traditional robots, who are most useful in the niche of dealing with purely physical jobs in a mechanical way.
As for Communism...well I don't believe there are many systems that are intrinsically black or white. I have never read any of Marx, but what I can gather from various academians I was exposed to was that the intent was to create a classless society where everyone was equal, and the main culprit for inequality was the accumulation of private property. The government was intended to be strong enough to prevent people who did not believe in equality from becoming too powerful. That sounds nice. Conversely, the core tenants of Capitalism boil down to "everyone acts in their own self interest" and "markets are omniscient." To me, this leans rather strongly to the evil side, and is not so far removed from the STS model I wrote about above. Some more STO leaning individuals grafted this democratic system on top of it in an attempt to mitigate its predatory and nihilistic tendencies and attempt to provide a voice for people who would otherwise be marginalized. One advantage Capitalism has over Communism is that it makes a rather accurate statement about human nature, even if it is unable to comprehend the entire spectrum. Communism seems more ideologically divorced from reality; it is unlikely that people who will act primairly in their own self interest, who also happen to be rather ignorant regarding reality in general, can comprise a social institution whose purpose is to ensure that everyone acts in the interests of all. Human nature is not changed so easily, though you can force behavior for awhile. This leads to a positive feedback loop where the government needs more power to catch the "cheaters" and intrudes more into people's lives to catch them, which creates more "cheaters," which justifies an even more intrusive response, and so on until the final result is totalitarianism. Capitalism parades selfishness as some great and glorious thing, eventually leading to some sort of fascist technocratic ideal where the corporation, or a cartel of corporations is God, unless some other system arrests its development. In the end, with human nature being what it is, both Capitalism and Communism lead to pretty much the same place, Capitalism is just more practical with less ideological gloss.
Lastly, I think STO societies must deal with inequality, they just approach it differently. In an STO society, everything is shared freely, everyone gives all when asked. In a sense, there is no private property, although everyone respects each other's boundaries. On the surface this is not so different from the ideological pontifications of communists. The difference is in the fact that STO beings do this as a function of their nature, not because the political ideology demands it. Therefore, An STO planet would probably not need an institution to "manage" equality, making the Communist system a sort of red herring for people trying to imagine an STO reality. On an STO planet you will still have people with different talents and levels of abilities, some are further along on the learning cycle than others, some will be able to give more than others. While power is most valued in an STS civilization, in an STO civlization it is probably wisdom. In a situation where a lot of people are giving a little bit to one person, that person will have to give a little to a lot of different people or a lot to a few people in order to prevent themselves from becoming a source of imbalance. The "teachers" who have deeper and richer insights have a greater sagacity which makes them more economically viable. Higher relative wealth, desirable in an STS society because it confers additional power and comfort, becomes a bit of a burden in an STO society because it means you have to work harder to balance amount of energy received with the amount of energy given. Depending on the psychological needs of the species in question, they could choose to express their political needs in a monarch, however this would be a very unenviable position because he would have to work really hard in order to maintain the balance. This would tend to favor systems where power is decentralized as much as possible to prevent anyone having to shoulder undue burdens. Whatever the political system, it would be one where all participate in free association in reaching a consensus on various matters, but some may have more influence on what the finished product looks like than others. A human visiting an STO world may say that it has communistic or anarchistic elements and try to come back and apply these principles without really understanding the nuance of why it works there and not here. A "Capitalist" STO being may decide that its own self-interest is inseparable from the self-interest of others, what it does to benefit itself must also be done for others. It all depends on who you are and what you see. In my opinion, the level of being of the species in question matters more than the specific socioeconomic system devised, which is just a mechanism to put that being to use in the broader domain.
There seems to be some evidence that aliens use some purely mechanical servants, but they seem to shy away from relying on them too heavily. I think the reason is that machines are stupid, they cannot really transduce the conscious energy of the universe; they can only imitate. 4D seems to prefer to merge organics with synthetics to create semi-robots that are still able to interact with the consciousness field, even if they keep little of it for themselves; they are an extraction medium. Since this energy fulfills the same role as money, these "biosynthoids" are seen as a better investment than traditional robots, who are most useful in the niche of dealing with purely physical jobs in a mechanical way.
As for Communism...well I don't believe there are many systems that are intrinsically black or white. I have never read any of Marx, but what I can gather from various academians I was exposed to was that the intent was to create a classless society where everyone was equal, and the main culprit for inequality was the accumulation of private property. The government was intended to be strong enough to prevent people who did not believe in equality from becoming too powerful. That sounds nice. Conversely, the core tenants of Capitalism boil down to "everyone acts in their own self interest" and "markets are omniscient." To me, this leans rather strongly to the evil side, and is not so far removed from the STS model I wrote about above. Some more STO leaning individuals grafted this democratic system on top of it in an attempt to mitigate its predatory and nihilistic tendencies and attempt to provide a voice for people who would otherwise be marginalized. One advantage Capitalism has over Communism is that it makes a rather accurate statement about human nature, even if it is unable to comprehend the entire spectrum. Communism seems more ideologically divorced from reality; it is unlikely that people who will act primairly in their own self interest, who also happen to be rather ignorant regarding reality in general, can comprise a social institution whose purpose is to ensure that everyone acts in the interests of all. Human nature is not changed so easily, though you can force behavior for awhile. This leads to a positive feedback loop where the government needs more power to catch the "cheaters" and intrudes more into people's lives to catch them, which creates more "cheaters," which justifies an even more intrusive response, and so on until the final result is totalitarianism. Capitalism parades selfishness as some great and glorious thing, eventually leading to some sort of fascist technocratic ideal where the corporation, or a cartel of corporations is God, unless some other system arrests its development. In the end, with human nature being what it is, both Capitalism and Communism lead to pretty much the same place, Capitalism is just more practical with less ideological gloss.
Lastly, I think STO societies must deal with inequality, they just approach it differently. In an STO society, everything is shared freely, everyone gives all when asked. In a sense, there is no private property, although everyone respects each other's boundaries. On the surface this is not so different from the ideological pontifications of communists. The difference is in the fact that STO beings do this as a function of their nature, not because the political ideology demands it. Therefore, An STO planet would probably not need an institution to "manage" equality, making the Communist system a sort of red herring for people trying to imagine an STO reality. On an STO planet you will still have people with different talents and levels of abilities, some are further along on the learning cycle than others, some will be able to give more than others. While power is most valued in an STS civilization, in an STO civlization it is probably wisdom. In a situation where a lot of people are giving a little bit to one person, that person will have to give a little to a lot of different people or a lot to a few people in order to prevent themselves from becoming a source of imbalance. The "teachers" who have deeper and richer insights have a greater sagacity which makes them more economically viable. Higher relative wealth, desirable in an STS society because it confers additional power and comfort, becomes a bit of a burden in an STO society because it means you have to work harder to balance amount of energy received with the amount of energy given. Depending on the psychological needs of the species in question, they could choose to express their political needs in a monarch, however this would be a very unenviable position because he would have to work really hard in order to maintain the balance. This would tend to favor systems where power is decentralized as much as possible to prevent anyone having to shoulder undue burdens. Whatever the political system, it would be one where all participate in free association in reaching a consensus on various matters, but some may have more influence on what the finished product looks like than others. A human visiting an STO world may say that it has communistic or anarchistic elements and try to come back and apply these principles without really understanding the nuance of why it works there and not here. A "Capitalist" STO being may decide that its own self-interest is inseparable from the self-interest of others, what it does to benefit itself must also be done for others. It all depends on who you are and what you see. In my opinion, the level of being of the species in question matters more than the specific socioeconomic system devised, which is just a mechanism to put that being to use in the broader domain.
Yeah, and assimilated by the Borg.Breaking it down simplistically in 3D conceptualizations, I envisage a 4D STS perp as the lovechild of a Shadow and Vorlon - possessed by a Goa'uld
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