Minbari Society-Communism, Utopia Or The Future Of Humanity

[Truth_Seeker]

I've decided to start a kind of a philosophical thread about the Minbari Society.Is it just a Sci-Fi utopia which will never be accomplished by the human race or it's a model of a possible future for mankind-no wars, no hunger, no murders and no poorness.It just sounds too good to be true but who knows.

What's your opinion about it?

 

[KoshFan]

It's a very peaceful society but it's also extraordinarily rigid, with very little social mobility, and heavily formalized and ritualized. I think the show's designers quite consciously chose a vaguely Japanese aesthetic for the Minbari: for for hundred years Japan was isolated, self-sufficient, and at peace, but so dominated by the class structure that there were even laws about when people had to switch from winter clothes to summer clothes (regardless of the weather!). Japan stagnated, and I think the Minbari were stagnating too. This is why unity with humans was so important. They could stabilize us, we could enliven them.

 

[Jan]

I've decided to start a kind of a philosophical thread about the Minbari Society.Is it just a Sci-Fi utopia which will never be accomplished by the human race or it's a model of a possible future for mankind-no wars, no hunger, no murders and no poorness.It just sounds too good to be true but who knows.

Minbari society is hardly a utopia, especially when it comes to war. Remember that it was Valen who put a stop to the constant struggle between the castes by forming the Grey Council. Before that, in order to gain supremacy for their caste, somebody had to die in the Starfire Wheel. Almost as soon as Delenn broke the Council, the strife and war between the castes broke out again.

As for no poorness or no hunger, we don't know that. No, we don't see any but we don't see any Centauri poor or homeless, either but we can pretty much assume that they exist given their society based on power and nobility.

Granted, the Minbari have the ideal that serving their people is the highest goal but that can become warped, too. Look at what might have happened to Lennier if what his clan had tried to do to Sheridan (There all the honor lies) had gone according to plan. Through no fault of his own, he'd have been dishonored and would have certainly had to leave Delenn's service. What happens to the dishonored in Minbari society? We're not shown but I would expect that they'd become outcasts and be shunned.

Would you want to live in a society where you're only told "what you need to know" as Delenn told Sheridan? I don't think that's a sign of a healthy society.

No, thanks. I don't think I want to see a real society based on the Minbari. Fun thought experiment, though.

Jan

 

[Truth_Seeker]

Yes there are some good and some bad things about Minbari society.It's a peaceful and intelligent environment to live in but it definately has its problems.There is no freedom of information, the personal rights are somehow limited in the name of the society,the members of the three castes don't normally mix.The government is also not very democratic because for example Delenn was a member of the Grey Council for 12 years-a long time for a politician to govern.The members of the Council are not elected by their people but chosen by someone already present there(Dukhat chose Delenn).

 

[Truth_Seeker]

There's another interesting thing about the Minbari.We've never heard any of them talking about money and I make the conclusion that they actually don't have any type of currency and they don't need one.In "Legacies" Delenn explained to the young telepath girl that she will not recieve salary for her work on Minbar, just the necessary food and clothes.If that's the way that the regular Minbari worker is paid money becomes irrelevant.

 

[Galahad]

Generally speaking, for al the religious castes pontificating, there is a ludicrously racist undercurrent in Minbari society... particularly rife in the Warrior Caste.

Delenn suggested that the gift of B4 as a new command post when there old one had been destroyed, would not have been accepted if the benefactor had been of a race other than Minbari.

That's cutting your nose off to spite your face to say the least.

Whilst the Minbari are enlightened in many ways... they still have some pretty major issues.

 

[KoshFan]

Galahad, I took that to mean that the Minbari hadn't had much contact with others at that point, and would have suspected a Shadow trap. Rather than attempt to check every inch of all five miles for bombs and booby traps, they would have simply refused to take the risk.

With Valen and two Vorlons putting the seal of approval on it, however, they were more open to the suggestion.

 

[Cell]

I took that to be a little of both. They were always a very cloistered and borderline racist people with the fact that they viewed themselves as better than every race sans the Vorlons. At the same time they were also paranoid at that point in time and I'm sure would have viewed B4 as a possible trick by the Shadows.

 

[KoshFan]

I think you've got it there, Cell.

 

[Galahad]

It's actually something I hadn't considered... but it tracks.

The only problem is that surely the presence of the vorlons in itself would be enough to sway the trap argument. I think we all agree that there was a bit of both going on.

 

[KoshFan]

Yeah, the Vorlons would have sealed the deal about the station -- but revamping the whole way of life?

 

[Morden]

In war, tradition takes a backseat to survival. Valen, with his mysterious charisma, would have needed little time to convince a Minbari race on the edge of annhilation to change. Technically, 'change' is probably the wrong word; Valen only sought to enhance the Minbari social values of order, respect, honor, and discipline. Minbari were headed this direction anyway, and Valen merely acted as a catalyst, propelling their culture.

Of course, assurances would have been made to the Minbari elders, but the Minbari were too desperate to move slowly. Their usual process of examinations, meditation, and soul-searching would not have been a factor. Desperation does a lot to hasten the norm. Desperation combined with divinity is a Minbari wet dream.

 

[Cell]

Sometimes that is true, and other times it is not. It is all up to the individual culture to adapt and change as the situation deems fit. For a culture, or race, this is truly where survival of the fittest applies. Those that wish to survive adapt to the changes that will allow them to survive and thrive. Those that wish to remain stubborn in their ways because they don't want to change form their strict ways will die off.