[Despite himself, Thrawn almost smiles briefly at that comment about killing Palpatine. If nothing else, he likes Ezra's attitude. It's too bad Thrawn's going to have to paint an extremely grim picture of reality for him.]
I was not asking you about the Rebellion. I was asking whether you had any sense of the scope and disposition of forces in the civil war that would ensue if the Empire were truly destabilized. As I said, Palpatine doesn't believe his Empire deserves to outlive him. More importantly, he thinks the galaxy deserves to be helpless without him in control. Even if that were not the case, however, a revolution that threatened the Empire would be met with a violent and multi-pronged counterrevolution - because, while fear may be Palpatine's weapon, it is not the Empire's. Its weapon is and always has been money.
The unique characteristic of fascism is not its militarization - it's the fact that it is, above all else, conceived as an economic final solution. It creates an almost fully privatized planned economy which artificially suppresses competition and welds corporate power to the state in a way that resembles feudalism rather than a free market: it divides the galaxy into fiefdoms based on productive sectors rather than territory, ruled by capitalist lords who are effectively omnipotent within the bounds of their own enterprises. It was only beginning to put down roots on Lothal. It is much more entrenched in the rest of the galaxy. Those who benefit most from it are compelled to fight for it, not only for the sake of power and profits but for the sake of their own survival - and some of them possess weapons every bit as dangerous as the ones the Imperial Navy holds. If the Rebellion meets with any success in taking power, they'll either be forced to make concessions to those corporate interests - concessions that put them right back on track to sink into the same cesspool of corruption as the Republic - or they'll be squaring off against enemies with the power to starve out or cripple production on entire worlds if they deem it necessary to their self-preservation.
Again, that is without accounting for Palpatine's plans to destroy the Empire if it ever fails to serve him. The divisions existing among his subordinates mean that without his control, the Empire could break apart into warring factions, fighting each other as well as the Rebellion, which would necessitate a war of reunification that could drag on for years and waste an incredible amount of lives, credits, and resources if not properly managed. The result Palpatine intends for all of the above would be a state, or group of states, that are militarily decimated, politically unable to administer the territory the Empire currently holds, and likely in a deep economic recession as well. There's enough unpredictability, enough margin for error, and enough people working against him that it may not turn out that badly, but it is important for you to understand exactly what is at risk.
no subject
I was not asking you about the Rebellion. I was asking whether you had any sense of the scope and disposition of forces in the civil war that would ensue if the Empire were truly destabilized. As I said, Palpatine doesn't believe his Empire deserves to outlive him. More importantly, he thinks the galaxy deserves to be helpless without him in control. Even if that were not the case, however, a revolution that threatened the Empire would be met with a violent and multi-pronged counterrevolution - because, while fear may be Palpatine's weapon, it is not the Empire's. Its weapon is and always has been money.
The unique characteristic of fascism is not its militarization - it's the fact that it is, above all else, conceived as an economic final solution. It creates an almost fully privatized planned economy which artificially suppresses competition and welds corporate power to the state in a way that resembles feudalism rather than a free market: it divides the galaxy into fiefdoms based on productive sectors rather than territory, ruled by capitalist lords who are effectively omnipotent within the bounds of their own enterprises. It was only beginning to put down roots on Lothal. It is much more entrenched in the rest of the galaxy. Those who benefit most from it are compelled to fight for it, not only for the sake of power and profits but for the sake of their own survival - and some of them possess weapons every bit as dangerous as the ones the Imperial Navy holds. If the Rebellion meets with any success in taking power, they'll either be forced to make concessions to those corporate interests - concessions that put them right back on track to sink into the same cesspool of corruption as the Republic - or they'll be squaring off against enemies with the power to starve out or cripple production on entire worlds if they deem it necessary to their self-preservation.
Again, that is without accounting for Palpatine's plans to destroy the Empire if it ever fails to serve him. The divisions existing among his subordinates mean that without his control, the Empire could break apart into warring factions, fighting each other as well as the Rebellion, which would necessitate a war of reunification that could drag on for years and waste an incredible amount of lives, credits, and resources if not properly managed. The result Palpatine intends for all of the above would be a state, or group of states, that are militarily decimated, politically unable to administer the territory the Empire currently holds, and likely in a deep economic recession as well. There's enough unpredictability, enough margin for error, and enough people working against him that it may not turn out that badly, but it is important for you to understand exactly what is at risk.