(as it's sometimes called)
Feudal Technocracy is a form of government unique to Traveller. My personal
argument is that it is in fact unique to the arcology-based worlds alone,
and that arcological development, especially on hostile worlds, goes hand in
hand with feudal technocracy. The essential concept behind the FT is that
the world's population centers exist and operate (as self-contained units
and in relation to one another) to perform specific tasks and act along
rigidly defined lines of authority. An arcology may be responsible for a
certain planetary export, or provide some critical service to the planet,
or merely (!) serve as a seat of government. Its place in the economic and
political (and social) structure of the world is fixed; it may well have been
fixed at the dawn of the planet's history. Within each arcology, subsections
are fixed in their operations and statuses as well; this could be more or less
socially stratified in addition to being tightly organized for production
purposes.
The FT differs from the company world in that the latter employ people and
are contracted to take care of their dependents, and the former consider
all inhabitants to be employees, with known duties and responsibilities
from birth to death. No one questions the system or attempts to redefine
the placement or importance of an arcology; such is the stuff of civil war.
The FT differs from democracies in that there is no guarantee of individual
rights or mobility (up/down or laterally) for most citizens. Essentially
the idea is of a closed, efficient society that operates like a well-oiled
machine. (Outside ideas are discouraged as destabilizing in most cases.)
metlay
PS. A commentary on the recent sociological posting, from Inspector Voerllaen
of the Anti-Rukh Coalition Police Executive:
Doctor (if I may use the term) Tuerz is a fugitive from justice, wanted
on fifteen counts of inciting to riot, creating public disturbances, libel,
slander, and unauthorized (untranslatable) of Low Kanguerradz ideas in a
fashion detrimental to the political stability of the Coalition. We are
offering a reward of ten thousand credits for his apprehension. And remember,
pups: we weren't born, we were made. AND WE WERE MADE BETTER!
Thank you.