Ideological Techo-Barbarism

Techno-Barbarism is frequently used to describe people who use technology without understanding it, the ideological Techno-Barbarian movement is another matter altogether. Ideological Techno-Barbarism is a movement that rejects the institution of another galactic scale civilization. It is necessary, within Techno-Barbarian schools of thought for individual systems, or at most loose confederations of a few systems develop on their own, without an outside force imposing upon them their own standards. As a result, Techno-Barbarians tend to be extremely heterodox in their views, adopting different political, social, and economic policy, and adapting as needed by the world they live on. Though many people, especially critics claim that Techno-Barbarians are a sort of Neo-Luddite movement rejecting technology, this is not necessarily the case. Some Techno-Barbarians do oppose the adoption of re-adoption of certain technologies that more closely bind star systems together, such as Jumpgates.  

Principles of Techno-Barbarism

The Stellar League Was a Mistake - The Stellar League and all of its predecessors were a mistake. Humanity is certainly not ready for a unified society now, and it is possible it never will be. Attempts to reunify the galaxy under one banner are likewise doomed to failure, and each world should adopt its own methods to develop and grow. Once everyone lives in prosperity, and there are no frontier colonies struggling to survive, then it may be possible for all of humanity together, not before.   We Must Adapt to our Condition - Techno-Barbarians are firm believers in the process of empiricism when it comes to matters of societal development. While certain ideological lenses can be useful to start, it is always necessary to adjust in accordance with evidence of on the ground conditions. As a people scattered to the stars, holding to ideological orthodoxy is an exercise in foolishness, futility or both.   Suspect the Gateway to Bondage - While Technobarbarians don’t actually reject technology on principle generally, there is one major exception. Jumpgates are an alien technology, and one that was used primarily to link systems together. This was used to bind together interstellar civilization, and it is believed, make them more co-dependent. Jumpgates are not necessarily to be rejected outright, but are to be viewed with suspicion.   No Masters, No Slaves - Techno-Barbarians are radically anti-colonial, believing that efforts to create extractive colonies are some of the greatest affronts to the Techno-Barbarian movement. For the colonizer, the need to create colonies is seen as an admittance that self-sufficiency is beyond them, that some means of extraction be it in the form of raw resources, cheap labor, or captive markets, from others is a requirement. For the colonized, the imposition of colonial rulers is a grave injustice which every adherent to the Techno-Barbarian is meant to oppose vigorously. The principle of No Slaves, No Masters is to be strictly adhered to, and Techo-Barbarians are often even opposed to relatively benign development organizations, on the grounds that they see these organizations as fronts for colonial operations.   In the End, We’re On Our Own - Though Techno-Barbarians are not opposed to trade, or assistance from the outside, it is commonly accepted that each society, even each individual is ultimately going to be on their own at the darkest of times. Therefore a measure of self-reliance is always necessary. This generally applies at the societal level, where Techno-Barbarian societies strive to be internally self-sufficient. However, more radical interpretations of the ideology can apply it to an individual level, preaching a radical individualism that borders on solipsism. In both cases, the focus on self-sufficiency stems from the notion that at any time, one could be entirely cut off from all outside systems of support, with The Great Cataclysm being pointed to as the most obvious known example.  

Primary Schools of Techno-Barbarian Thought

Techo-Barbarism is an extremely unorthodox ideology with dozens of significant positions from the proto-Stelsoc element to the Techno-Feudalist thought that runs a few states in the Urea Nebula. It can be said that Techno-Barbarism has as many schools of thought as societies that practice it, though there are a few general positions within the ideology.  

Stellar Devolutionism

Considered to be the “Orthodox” form of Techo-Barbarian ideology, Stellar Devolutionism rejects the notion of forming any interstellar states at all. Stellar Devolutionists therefore believe that states should not organize beyond the level of star systems, or planets, or in extreme cases rejecting the notion of even planetary unification. Stellar Devolutionists are militantly opposed to many forms of interstellar technologies, with anything more advanced than the most basic jump drives seen as anathema. However, Stellar Devolutionism is extremely heterodox in approach to societal development, with people espousing capitalist, socialist, and other philosophies welcome so long as their ambitions don’t stretch beyond their local system. Stellar Devolutionism is extremely unpopular within Civilized Space, but has many adherents scattered in the Far Frontier where many star systems were ransacked of resources by the many interstellar governments that have existed in the galaxy.  

Techno-Feudalism

A development of Techno-Barbarism hailing from the Urea Nebula, but having spread beyond it in the later days of the Long Night, Techno-Feudalism seeks to reinstate more traditional styles of governance. Notably Techno-Feudalism is the only major school of political thought that promotes monarchist thinking, and Techno-Feudalists have recreated Feudal relations as a means of decentralizing the power of their small interstellar confederacies. Techno-Feudalists have therefore created the possibility of interstellar expansion, so long as this simple and loose arrangment is maintained. Though it has gained some traction outside of the Urea nebula, it is best embodied by the Urean Kingdom, and to a lesser extent, the Cormorant Principality.  

The Dromedary School

The Dromedary School, sometimes jokingly referred to as Camelism, the Dromedary School is a more moderate interpretation of Techno-Barbarian ideology developed by the desert world of Dromedarius. Seeing some governance between closely aligned systems as necessary, the Dromedary School condones the development of cluster level government. Instead, emphasis is placed more strongly on fostering the independence of the individual. In the harsh conditions of their home system, Dromedarians must frequently rely solely on their own abilities while traversing the vast sand seas of Dromedarius. As a result, the principles of self-reliance stand strong, and Dromedarians believe that the ancient conception of the renaissance man is the ideal to be encouraged, and proponents of the Dromedary school foster the development of these sorts of people in their societies. It is said that when everyone is universally capable, then perhaps the time of reunification will come.  

Techno-Barbarian Capitalism

Techno-Barbarian Capitalists believe firmly in the ancient capitalist economic model. According to them, the transition from Capitalism to Frentierism as it occurred under the Transolar Federation, and later the Stellar League was fundamentally one of the causes for the collapse of interstellar society. TB Capitalists believe therefore that industrialization through market forces is an absolute necessity before any major galactic civilization can be recreated, if indeed such a project is something worth pursuing at all. TB Capitalists renew their emphasis on the development of physical capital and while they will respect intellectual property, it is not considered of paramount importance as patents and copyright should only, in their eyes, serve the purpose of protecting the profits of nascent industrialists so that they can adequately be compensated for their work and no further.  

Techno-Barbarian Socialism

Techno-Barbarian Socialism is a continuation of Old Earth socialist theory that tacks itself much more strongly to the Anti-colonialist tradition than the Stellar Socialist movement. They believe that large, centralized states necessarily impose a colonial relation on their frontiers for the benefit of their core territories. Therefore, they refuse to unify with large Stelsoc states, and especially with other, more ideologically incompatible states. However, they will sometimes be willing to work with interstellar development organizations, so long as such organizations are carefully researched beforehand in order to avoid the imposition of a foreign power upon a small TB socialist state.  

Techno-Barbarian Facism

Techno-Barbarian Fascism is a family of extremely autocratic ideologies seeking a return to a mythologized past that usually never existed. TB Fascists reject the notion of a humanity that is united by any means other than the forceful domination of some groups over others. These are typically drawn along ethnic or religious lines, with an ideological in-group, becoming the rightful masters of other peoples. TB Fascists reject any larger society where they cannot become dominant, seeing cooperation with inferior beings as a failing that will undoubtedly undermine their grand plan, but relentlessly prepare their own in-group to become the militant arm of their own expansion, men of action prepared to fight against their inferiors in a battle for dominance. It is only through this act of conquest that a higher society can exist, and once the conquest is achieved the inferior groups must be made subordinate if useful or necessary, or completely purged if not. This particular ideology is somewhat rare, as even most relatively isolated systems have a more positive experience with outside cooperation than not, but it does have its practitioners in some systems throughout the galaxy.  

Neo-Luddism

Neo-Luddism is an ideological movement that not only rejects interstellar society, but indeed most advanced technologies (typically those beyond at most an early spacefight era), in effect what many believe Techno-Barbarianism to be in caricature. Neo-Luddites believe that the rapid advancement of technology, beyond humanity’s ability to adapt societally to those advancements, was ultimately the cause of the Jred attacks. Therefore, it is necessary to return to a simpler form of living in order to properly process advancements, and make the adoption of more advanced technologies feasible. Neo-Luddite, ironically, often cooperate with various technocults, working with them to preserve technologies for future use, when the time has come to adopt them. Indeed recruits from Neo-Luddite communes , make up a fairly large segment of the Censor sect of Opus Dei. Neo-Luddism is a relatively popular ideology, with many feral worlds being Neo-Luddite communes that intentionally keep technological levels low in line with their ideologies.  

Ideological Conflicts

 

With Solism

The conflict between Solists and Techno-Barbarians, while not obvious to Solists is much more obvious to Techno-Barbarians. Though Solists may be willing to appreciate the supposed hardiness of Techno-Barbarians, their plans to rekindle galactic civilization, with Sol as its beating heart... at any cost... is ultimately fundamentally at odds with the wider Techno-Barbarian movement. These open and rabid colonizers, exploiters, or indeed inferior mongrels must be opposed at any cost.  

With Frentierism

Though Frentierists and Techno-Barbarians don’t, as a whole, have many inherent ideological conflicts, the Frentierist societal model was ultimately the one that existed with the collapse of the Stellar League, and it is therefore apparent to most Techno-Barbarians, that this model is fundamentally unsustainable and should not have another chance at reshaping the galaxy in its own image.  

With Stelsoc

Though the Stellar Socialists and some Techno-Barbarians can align interests at times, a certain amount of skepticism towards Stellar Socialists who they see as just another group looking to create colonies under friendlier names, in the name of the same foolhardy notion of progress that other major ideological families would seek out. They must therefore never be trusted completely, and indeed depending on the ideological current, must actively be opposed.  

With Religion

There aren’t any conflicts between most mainstream forms of Techno-Barbarism and most religions. However, more extreme Stellar Devolutionists will oppose certain religions on the grounds that they may seek to impose interstellar hierarchies, which runs counter to the highly localized development promoted by the Devolutionist movement, and should therefore be treated with extreme skepticism.  

History of Techno-Barbarism

Though Technobarbarism is a relatively young ideology it can trace its roots back to earlier ideological positions that arose in the past. Many of the frontier territories came to resent the rule of the Stellar League, and indeed its predessor the Transolar Federation. As the core of galactic civilization extracted massive amounts of resources for relatively little investment, it was common for many in the fringes to consider these central territories as exploiters, and many idealogues began to develop ideologies in opposition to the galactic core. For some this was an adoption of the growing underground Stelsoc movement. For others, new indepence movements arose along other ideological lines. However none of these movements could gain any traction until the Jred Scourge. With the arrival of the Jred, peoples across the galaxy lost faith in the central government of the Stellar League which failed utterly to stop the invaders, and indeed frequently willingly sacrificed entire worlds to slow the Jred down. It also brought about the Great Cataclysm, which shattered galactic civilization.   With the collapse of the Stellar League, peoples across the galaxy had a chance to rebuild societies more in line with their own wishes. Some turned to the Frentierism model to remake the world as it was. Others turned to Stelsoc, in an effort to build a more just and equal world. Still others went "feral" with their technological base collapsing to a level incapable of proper spaceflight. Regardless, with the collapse of the Stellar League, the disappearance of its regulating influence ensured that peoples across the galaxy started to become more and more dissimilar on a cultural life, and indeed rarely at a biological level.   With the easing, and later end of the Long Night however, interstellar civilization began to reassert itself. However, some came to resent this reimposition of interstellar order. Those who did began to articulate ideological positions in favor of the status quo, and the avoidance of a strong outside government. It was from this movements that the first true Techno-Barbarians were born. As the Techno-Barbarian movement began to gain steam, it became more diverse. Eventually this movement fractured significantly, with groups of different Techno-Barbarians fighting each other just as much as their fought those seeking to colonize their lands, or assert sovereignty over them. However, the movement continued to spread, and eventually it became one of the dominant ideological positions in the galaxy.  

Techno-Barbarian States and Organizations

The Cormorant Principality is an extremely prosperous state, though not especially radical, it nonetheless represents one of the greatest performers of the early 41st century, It however maintains one of the healthiest and most functional Techno-Feudal societies in the world. The Urean Kingdom is another relatively stable and prosperous Techno-Fuedal state located within the Urea Nebula. Though not as well off as its chief rival, the Kavans, it is quite powerful and influential serving as the gateway between the Urean peoples and the peoples of the wider galaxy.