Telegram Sam
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Posted - 2013.01.21 22:19:00 -
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This is one of the most interesting threads I've seen in a long time. A lot of good points made by different people.
One interesting thing about the four factions is they seem to share (or be divided by) two sets of aspects. One set of aspects is Traditional vs. Modern. Amarr and Minmatar cultures are on the traditional end and Gallente and Caldari are on the more modern end. (By modern, I don't mean the level of the faction's technology. I mean the culture's outlook on such things as individuality, social mobility, and the role of family and extended family).
The other aspect is Egalitarian/Democratic vs. Stratified/Authoritarian. Gallente and Minmatar cultures would be more at the Egalitarian/Democratic end, Amarr and Caldari more at the other.
A rough chart I just did looks like this. If you look at it according to shared traits, Amarr (Traditional, Stratified) has the least in common with Gallente (Modern, Egalitarian). Similarly, Caldari (Modern, Stratified) shares the least with Minmatar (Traditional, Egalitarian). But the directly opposed cultures are not the prime enemies of each other. It is the Traditionals (Amarr and Minmatar) that are at war with each other and the Moderns (Gallente and Caldari) that are at war with each another.
Also, each faction culturally has as much in common with its prime enemy as it does with its ally. (Ex: Gallente has Modern in common with Caldari, but not with its ally Minmatar). This might explain why both of the alliances seem to be composed of strange bedfellows. Amarr theocratic, aristocratic, land- and slave-owning thinking is alien to Caldari ultra-capitalist corporate technocratic-meritocratric thinking, and vice versa. The same for Gallente modern democratic consumerist thinking vs. Minmatar tribe and warrior culture thinking. Culturally, the alliance partners have some large differences in outlook, and culturally they don't make natural allies. The allies share political and military considerations, but their cultural differences prevent them from becoming especially friendly.
Not to read too much into this little observation. Any time you draw a chart, you're probably oversimplify things. I just think it's interesting the four factions were laid out with shared similarities and shared differences. But they weren't laid out with the most-different faction as their prime enemy. The moralistic, conservative, authoritarian Amarr are not especially opposed to the hedonistic, loose-society, democratic Gallente. Not on ideological grounds, at least. The factions are opposed to their prime enemies because of issues of history and hegemony. I think this is a nice, rather sophisticated touch.
And now, Capricorn, we will look at a chart of the aspects that define your personality and your horoscope for today.... 
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