UN in 2183

Chris said:
hm....I don't see that.  Partly because I 
don't see the UN
having that big a tax base (big, but not 
bigger than NAC or
ESU), and partially because they're not in 
FB1: The Major
Powers.   Call them The Largest of the 
Minor Powers, if you
want to irritate the Secretary General.

[Tomb] Neither are the Savasku or the 
Kra'Vak. Call them minor powers at  your 
peril, friend. 

I don't actually think there's a lot of 
difference between
the TomB-verse UN and mine--it's mainly a 
matter of the
actual (not necessarily professed) motives 
of the people at
the top, and what UNBOSS does to 
dissidents.

[Tomb] It may also have to do with the 
efficiency with which the job gets done. 
The UNSIA also tends to remove 
"problems", just perhaps my definition of a 
problem is a bit less open. To me, the UN 
is one path for humanity - the path to 
Global (and in the long term, sphere-wide) 
Government. That brings with it a 
uniformity of law (in theory), just 
administration (though "just what?" might 
be asked), and a coordinating point for 
things of large scope and a great equalizer 
of opportunity economically and under the 
law. OTOH, it is a great equalizer with 
what that entails, and it is also a 
bureaucratic nightmare. And it sometimes 
gets carried away with its "great mission to 
save humanity" and thus loses sight of 
what it means to be a human being. I think 
my UN fits with Jon's "no white hats". Or in 
this case, they wear them and try to 
convince themselves (and others) that they 
really are the good guys. 

[Tomb] And I probably have a vision of a 
UN with more tax base than either Chris or 
John. And I also happen to think that if 
there was a workable way to be a citizen of 
humanity (esp if it came with some tax 
shelters for research corporations, etc), 
you'd find more than a few people willing to 
consider it. A lot of the smart people from 
the developing world for example, who, 
given opportunity, could well shine as 
bright or brighter than their major nation 
counterparts. I'm a Canadian, and if I had a 
chance to go out and stand up for the 
entire populated world against external 
threats, and be offered citizenship of some 
sort of supranation, I'd surely consider it. 
Maybe I'm alone, but I think not. I think 
fewer Americans might (because American 
patriotism is probably more entrenched - 
not that I'm judging that in one way or 
another). I also think a lot of business 
types might move to UN based companies, 
etc if there were economic incentives. Look 
at how many people move their banking 
offshore nowadays. And I think once the 
UN has some planetspace, they can 
encourage some agressive population 
growth options for their colonies. And if 
they can cherry pick some of the best and 
brightest from all the other blocks, they're 
well setup. 

[Tomb] I don't believe they can match any 
major power on the ground - I don't think 
they have the scope of ground force 
required to think of it, and they are 
probably a bit light in supporting arms 
(main force being Marine in nature or 
mercenary which is usually light 
mechanized). But in space, where they 
have concentrated and have some neat 
tech toys, I rate them as a match to one of 
the big boys. Maybe not in raw numbers, 
but in combat power (this makes some 
guestimates on the power of some of their 
systems in the next FT product). So, they 
aren't quite a major power, nor a minor, 
but something in between. 

PS - Thanks to Brian for the immortalizing 
in cardboard crating. You need to have a 
packing crate for "Impact Point 
Games(TM)". Contains hazardous materials 
of course! And Chris, your suggestion of 
Booze Raider as a scenario idea is just bad 
enough to have me try it out. I have a 
whole pile of 25mm Cantina style bar 
settings, a big cantina band, etc. Mos 
Eisley might become Mos Tuffley and 
feature some of Brian's crating. 

Too much fun! (Just like Star Fleet 
Command 2 which I just got running - SFB 
on computer!)
---------------------------------------------
Thomas Barclay
Co-Creator of http://www.stargrunt.ca 
Stargrunt II and Dirtside II game site

No Battle Plan Survives Contact With Dice.
-- Mark 'Indy' Kochte