In reply to the message about foundations as sources of loyalty, and the
decline of nationalism, there are several solutions to the problem. The first
is that the governments continue to provide the services such as care for the
elderly, and maintenance of the military, but that the citizenship doesn't take
it quite as religeously. Many people have health insurance, but few can be said
to be loyal to ones insurance company in the same way that they are to their
country. Possibly the existence of space travel and colony worlds makes gaining
more population a great adventage to the governments, who then compete for
people in a capitalist like environment, getting along by means of a very
complex set of treaties. An interesting adventure might involve a character
trying to change citizenship.
Another possibility, more interesting but less main stream, is that the
governments really are no longer supplying these services, and that some sort
of religeous organization (probably humanist in nature, if one is not to
upset the social character to radically) might be supporting the handicaped,
etc., through donations. Possibly such an organization has some sort of
military might as well. Such an organization could be a very interesting
one adventure wise. A religeous army would probably have some sort of code
of honor. It will probably not have legal juristiction anywhere, and so may
be underground, and not recognized by the religeon "officially". Its
relations to other religeons would be interesting, possibly enev involving
holy wars, etc. Note that by religeon I don't necessarily mean that they
worship something (Taoists don't seem to), or believe in extra-scientific
powers (and in a 2300 like setting, nobody could actually have such powers
(though they could believe in them) without
drastically altering the character of the game.), but only they they have a
common moral code and a means of inspiring large numbers of people to follow
that code, usually through ritual. (Of course, bribary by powers or threat by
"gods" are more common methods.)
What sort of new religeon would develop in the next 300 years? Maybe something
based on the vary "new age" ideas of Geanism. Another possibility would be
something which would claim to unify the different religeons. If one wanted
to have a "secret society" bent to their world, one could base an organization
off of the Free Masons (I don't know how factually accurate it is on "real"
free masons, but Robert A. Wilsons _Historical Illuminatus_ might be of use
here.), or a religeon along the lines of the "Speaker for the Dead"
group found in Orson Scott Cards _Enders Game_ series. Possibly more than
one of these could come into existance, creating more interesting scenerios...