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In the latest Star Wars: The High Republic comic we learn about a new facet of the Force that has striking similarities to the different ways in which the economy is interpreted – here on Earth – by socialists and capitalists.
In this comic, we see how the Force is not only used by Jedi and Siths, but various other groups throughout the galaxy are dedicated to the study and practice of the Force. The Path of the Open Hand is a new cult that claims that those who use the Force endanger the entire galaxy.
According to them, using the Force in one place creates a vacuum elsewhere, causing imbalance and harming untold innocents, so they begin to publicly whip up the masses to pit them against the Jedi, and demand that they stop using it.
The Jedi don’t believe The Path of the Open Hand’s claims and discover a creature called a Leveler, which is the one causing the gaps in the Force, and which turns out to be controlled by the cult that accuses the Jedi of the problem.
Although the metaphor might be unintentional, the author seems to be describing perfectly the dynamics of the economy in our world.
Socialism understands economics as a zero-sum game, that is, where one has to lose so that another can win. They think of wealth as a pie of a given size, to be shared out.
Those who do not think in socialist terms know that the economy is a pie that grows by using the tool of capitalism. Economic inequalities do not occur because the one who wins has made another lose, but is probably because socialism itself is taking away the capitalist tools from the hands of the loser.
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The parallel with Star Wars seems obvious. The Path of the Open Hand would be the socialists accusing the users of the Force —the capitalists— of the imbalances in the galaxy. While they control the monster that creates those imbalances, they accuse the Jedi of being the ones to blame for using the Force, and call for banning or limiting its use.
For example, when the government prints money to spend on its own things —building Death Stars, giving subsidies, funding foreign wars, etc.— it is feeding the inflation monster. When that monster bites your pocket, they blame it on the greed of businessmen and speculators, or make any other excuse, as long as they do not recognize that they are the ones controlling and feeding the monster.
It seems that the Galactic High Republic had to deal with its own version of galactic socialism of the Force, and judging by the later results, the doctrines of The Path of the Open Hand cult did irreparable damage to that galaxy far, far away.
Ignacio Manuel García Medina, Business Management teacher. Artist and lecturer specialized in Popular Culture for various platforms. Presenter of the program "Pop Libertario" for the Juan de Mariana Institute. Lives in the Canary Islands, Spain // Ignacio M. García Medina es profesor de Gestión de Empresas. Es miembro del Instituto Juan de Mariana y conferenciante especializado en Cultura Popular e ideas de la Libertad.
Social Networks: @ignaciomgm