7 ms·
I would remind you that the fictional society that did this was also described as a feudal monarchy in which a tiny class of nobles exploits the economic output
by int_19h 1mo ago
I would remind you that the fictional society that did this was also described as a feudal monarchy in which a tiny class of nobles exploits the economic output of trillions of people reduced to serfs by controlling all means of interstellar trade. Oh, and they also have legal slavery.
- laughingcurve 1mo ago“B-b-b-but muh pop culture trope” Thank you for commenting this. I'm tired of hearing about Dune like its some kind of utopia
- achierius 1mo agoDo you seriously think that's that people mean when they quote that?
- int_19h 1mo agoOf course they don't, but if you choose to use a work of fiction as an illustration, it comes as a coherent package (assuming the author did a good job at worldbuilding) - you can't just take the bits you like and ignore the bits you don't and still have something coherent.
- jackie293746 1mo agoWhat a stupid pov lmao
- deleted 1mo ago[deleted]
- silver_silver 1mo agoThe implication in the book is that the exploitation enabled by AI in their history was somehow even worse.
- int_19h 1mo agoDuring the Butlerian Jihad, the people involved in it didn't know that ten thousand years of slavery would be what they are choosing, so we don't know how bad it actually was. The way Jihad presented in the oblique references in books, anyway, it sounds a great deal like a fanatical fundamentalist religious movement to me. Those are not known for their fine reasoning.
- silver_silver 1mo agoI’ve gotta say ultimately I’m not convinced Herb put more thought into it beyond its purpose justifying human labour in his universe despite the massively advanced technology. There’s a similar shortcut in the Warhammer backstory.
- int_19h 1mo agoHerbert did genuinely believe that people overly relying on machines is problematic insofar as it "trains the mind" to think like a machine, and in the process loses the indeterminacy that he believed to be an inherent and valuable trait of human thinking that machines cannot replicate. (Coincidentally, this is also the main threat in the original books, just manifesting in a different form, with prescient individuals "locking in" the rest of humanity.)
- talon8635 1mo agoHonest question, is an oppressed human society better than no human society at all? Isn’t there at least a hope for humans to free themselves from human oppressors?
- nmeagent 1mo agoI'll remind you that a fictional product that provided longevity and woo woo powers of prescience and was only available on one planet in the entire universe was the key context that enabled such a centralized society. Dropping thinking machines and their masters like a bad habit was only part of the cause, as it eliminated one means of safe interstellar travel in that reality. I can take ideas from this plot without bringing in the whole ridiculous mess if I like, just like I can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time, thank you very much.