Frentierism

Frentierism (literally Frontier Rentierism) is an economic system and ideology tracing its origins back to the earliest development of interstellar colonies. An evolution of Capitalism, Frentierist principles seek to refine further the principles of Neoliberal Capitalism by transitioning fully from the earlier industrialist model to one entirely organized around finance and intellectual property as the basis for generating wealth. It was the dominant ideology during the Age of Unity, though with the collapse of interstellar civilization during the Long Night limited the power of the Frentierist elite, and ironically, saw many emergent societies reinstate more traditional Capitalist economic models. In the modern day, Frentierists are but one of many major ideological groups struggling to remake the future of the New Frontier in their own image.¡

Principles of Frentierism

Private Enterprise Should Lead the Way - Frentierists believe that private enterprise is the engine of the economy. Therefore, a Frentierist society should ensure that property rights, including intellectual property rights should be enshrined in the founding documents and the laws of every state, with access to the ability to obtain private property being considered a right. The state has a role to play to be certain, but ultimately, the private sector should be the driving force behind any healthy economy.

A Competitive Market Order Ensures Prosperity - The ultimate goal of every Frentierist State is to ensure a society where competition between firms is the driving force. When a state acts, its aim must be to better ensure the healthy functioning of this competitive world order, indeed the degree to what is considered necessary for the healthy markets is one of the main drivers between differences between schools of thought within Frentierism. If necessary anti-competitive practices may be adopted in order to better ensure the health of the overall system, but these actions should be avoided if possible. Wherever there exists a field market doesn’t exist, there should be actions to convert that field to a market unles doing so would be actively destructive to the wider market order.

Free Trade is Necessary for Economic Expansion - Frentierists believe that not only should markets be free within a single society, but that free flow of goods, and services with the aim of creating, or in the post Cataclysm world, recreating, an integrated galactic economy, is the a major aim of a Frentierist society. States which try to protect their local markets and industries are ultimately responsible for holding back their own economies from the optimal growth that they could otherwise achieve if opened up to competition from the outside. This free trading notion however, does not extend to intellectual property, the protection and safeguarding of which is of great import, even as its products are traded as freely as possible.

Expansion of the Supply of Currency Should be Opposed - A holdover from ancient times, most lines of Frentierist thought believe that the expansion of money supply will always cause more problems than it could possibly solve, as it will inevitably cause significant inflation that will ultimately drive up prices unnaturally breaking the natural flow of the market. It is a responsibility of Frentierist societies therefore, to avoid any form of money expansion via quantitative easing, excessive welfare, or other such activities unless any other method of resolving an economic problem has been exhausted, and even then, the expansion of the money supply should only be utilized sparingly. In practice what usually happens is that most Frentierst states, will either just just the G-Credit (especially if its a smaller state), or pin their own currency's value directly to some exchange rate with the G-Credit.

Industrial Capital is Outmoded - A truly Frentierist Society believes that the old model of industrial capitalism is outmoded. Reliance on physical assets and physical industries as the main source of wealth generation is something for people of the ancient past, and ferals living on backwards worlds to hold on to. In the future, ownership of intellectual property is the primary driver of wealth generation. He holds the Build Template and controls the world. He who owns the printer is merely a serf, working the intellectual commons, owing fealty to the OP holder. He who owns neither lives at the benevolence of the serf and the lord. For most, this particular element of Frentierist philosophy however, is one that is the most easily discarded when things go wrong, and when physical possession of goods becomes a lot more important, and indeed, in practice many of the wealthiest people in Frentierist societies make it a point to own both if possible.

Primary Schools of Frentierist Thought

Though initially an interstellar outgrowth of Earth centered Neoliberalism, Frentierist philosophy has grown to be an incredibly diverse ideological family, with some adhering closely to the tenets of the ideology, others deviating where necessary, and others taking an extreme hardline position further than the orthodox. Ironically, Frentierists have come to eventually readopt many of the ideological differences that arose within 20th century Capitalism before the dominance of Neoliberal thought at the end of the Ancient Era.

Orthodox Frentierism

Though whether or not Orthodox Frentierism is the original form in which it took is a matter of historical debate, the Orthodox form of Frentierism is that which most closely adheres to the central tenets of the ideology. According to Orthodox Frentierists, the market is and should always be the primary driving force for the economy, and the state’s role is minimized. It should maintain the monopoly on force, or at least regulate use of force to organizations which it does have some measure of influence over. However, for all else, the state should either leave matters to the market, partner with private entities, or, at most, create an alternative to private services that must also compete within the market order. The state therefore is ideally the guardian of the free market order, and nothing more.

Social Market Frentierism

Largely adopted by societies within Civilized Space, Social Market Frentierism is a more flexible, and less strictly orthodox form of the Frentierist ideology. With the advent of increasingly autonomous production, a greater share of the population will become structurally unemployed. In order to ensure the healthy functioning of the market, it is necessary to provide this underclass with the means to participate in the market, even if doing so may cause inflationary pressures. Social Market Frentierists are proponents of a limited welfare state, centered around a Universal Basic Income for permanent residents, and limited public healthcare and education, as well as partnerships between the state, and the private sector to provide other goods at a reduced cost to the end consumer. These universal goods, it is believed, will ensure that everyone has a proper chance to succeed or fail within the market, and more pragmatically to limit the growth of a revolutionary movement within a disgruntled underclass.

Paleofrentierism

The result of Frenterist philosophy encountering the hard realities of post Cataclysm existence, Paleofrentierists believe that the orthodox current of Frentierist ideology was too hasty in abandoning the elements that still tied it to more traditional, Capitalist models. Paleofrentierists therefore renew emphasis on the physical possession of manufacturing and resource gathering operations as a significant means of generating wealth, though they still maintain that, unlike traditional capitalism, financial interests and intellectual property remain of paramount importance. Paleofrenterists tend towards the Orthodox model in most other ways however, though there exists a significant contingent of academics seeking to merge the Social Market model and the Paleofrentierist model together. Paleofrentierism finds its strongest proponents at the fringes of Civilized Space, and within the nearer reaches of the Frontier where there exists a more limited technological base, and a stronger, more influential working class population.

Indentured Frentierism

As increasing automation took over the core of galactic civilization, while the frontiers struggled to meet an ever increasing labor demand even with an influx of newly unemployed people, Indentured Frentierism emerged as an ideological current. Indentured Frentierists believe that people who cannot work should not be given welfare by the state. Instead, Corporate entities should “provide” for this class of structurally unemployed workers by contracting them to menial labor in areas that are not yet viable for automation. These persons, now indentured by contract are bound to their employers who have a great deal of leverage in how those in their indenture behave. Though not technically owned by their contract holders, indentured people live where their employer wants, do what their employer wants, and cannot meaningfully negotiate for wages beyond whatever state protections still exist. If there is insufficient supply of suitable labor, Indentured Frentierists believe that it is necessary to breed a new underclass, through cloning, or in more extreme, and less savory cases, forced breeding between indentured workers. Indentured Frentierism is, despite some academic backing, extremely unpopular with average people, and most examples of Indentured Frentierist societies exist in Frontier Space where information travels slower, and inconvenient dissidents are less influential.

The Great Compromise

First postulated by the academics of the University of Scipion School of Economics, the Great Compromise (known colloquially as Labor Frentierism) is an effort to combine Stelsoc elements and ethics into a wider Frentierist society, and is one of the most deviant currents of the wider ideology. Proponents of the Great Compromise (often known as Labor Frentierists), believe that while the means of production must still be privately owned, labor centered movements must have a strong counterbalancing influence in order to rein in the excess of Frentierist orthodoxy. Therefore, strong labor unions must exist to try and cooperate with the owners of capital (both the middle managers with the means of production, and the holders of Intellectual Property) to build a better society. Many Labor Frentierists also believe in strong state participation in the economy in order to manage crises and to build a strong foundation for all citizens ideally so that nobody is structurally barred from the chance to improve their living conditions. Though not the driving force behind many major Frentierist states, the Labor Frentierism remains a viable minority opinion in much of the galaxy, though its proponents regularly finds themselves in competition with Social Market Frentierism and proper Stelsoc for influence.

Molotovism

Named for its first influential thinker, Sergei Anatoly Molotov of the Republic of Istengrav, Molotovism is a highly militant form of Frentierist philosophy. Not content with building their own society, Molotovists believe that is necessary to contain, or indeed outright destroy Solist, Technobarbarian, and especially Stelsoc influences wherever possible. If the anti-liberal elements are not hunted down and destroyed, Molotovists believe that society will eventually degenerate into a morass of stagnation, corruption, and ever increasing poverty. Though Molotovism has never fully taken root in any society, it remains an influence in many Frentierist societies.

Technolibertarianism

An extreme form of Frentierism, Technolibertarianism believes in a return to a more laissez-faire economic model. Technolibertarians believe that the state should take an entirely passive role in the economy only having the power to protect the market as a reactive measure. More extreme Technolibertarians, sometimes known as Void Anarchists don’t even believe in the need for a state at all, believing instead that private enterprise could fulfil all of the functions of a state including for defense, protection of property, and enforcement of contracts. Technolibertarianism is not a particularly popular ideology however, and it struggles to gain influence over more than the smallest communities.

Ideological Conflicts

With Stelsoc

Frentierism and Stellar Socialism are fundamentally at odds about how the fundamental forces of the galactic economy should work. While some Frentierists believe in compromising with the Stelsoc movement, most accept the notion that compromise is a fundamental impossibility, and are opposed to Stelsoc on principle. For most, this means containing the growth of the Stelsoc movement. For the more extreme, Molotovists especially, not only is containment necessary, but so too is an active push to destroy Stellar Socialism where it exists currently.

With Solism

Most Frentierists will at least publicly, reject the authoritarian nature of Solist states. While the relationship between Frentierism and authoritarianism are more complicated than most would believe, there is another inherent contradiction between the two ideologies. Whereas the Frentierist believes in the market and private initiative, the Solist fundamentally believes in the primacy of the state, and the subordination of all other forces in society beneath it. Therefore, most Frentierists, even those with authoritarian tendencies will openly reject Solism, and will usually make alliances and compromises with Solism only where necessary to protect against a bigger threat.

With Techno-Barbarism

There is no inherent contradiction between the two ideologies on the surface. However, between individual Techno-Barbarian societies and Frentierist Societies there may exist more conflict. Some Techno-Barbarian societies have embraced socialist thought for example, and must be opposed on the same grounds that Stelsoc is. Others have turned to more traditional Capitalist models of economic and productive organizing, and therefore are seen as ideological relics that must eventually be brought to the modern standard as soon as is feasible. Conflict between societies of these ideologies however, are ultimately sporadic, and largely tied to conditions on the ground.

With Religions

While Frentierist thought, generally speaking, isn’t incompatible with religion, in certain conditions, and with extremists conflicts arise. More extremist Frentierists believe that the church, as a means of social organizing away from the influence of the market, should eventually be broke up, and more extremist religious persons believe that the Frentierist promotion of vulgar consumerism is exactly the sort of thing that causes moral decay, and that Frenterist influences should be resisted. However, the particulars of conflict are something that matter more depending on real world conditions than any issues that arise in theory, usually.

History of Frentierism

Frentierism traces its origins to the early phases of interstellar colonization, and with the later phases of third wave automation. With the ever increasing automation of the economy, millions, later billions of people found themselves structurally employed. As this occurred however, new opportunities arose in deep space and later interstellar colonization efforts. These two driving forces of the Stellar and Transtellar era caused something of a contradiction for the reigning Capitalist ideologies of the time. On the one hand, there was an unstable labor force on Earth with a sizable underclass, but dwindling consumer class, on the other was the growing population base in the interstellar colonies that had to rely primarily upon themselves with only initial supplies, and later, the SBT, provided for from Earth. As these issues arose, a new breed of economic thought centered first and foremost around the influence of finance, and the ownership of intellectual property, as the means of securing the prosperity of the ruling classes, and allegedly, that of the wider economy.

Though initially, this ideology was slow to grow, with early interstellar civilization consisting of loosely connected colonies. With the advent of the Jumpgate network, and with it the dramatically improved connectivity between distant worlds, Frentierist thought spread much more rapidly, gaining a strong following among the middle and upper classes of all the older, and now developed and prosperous worlds of Civilized Space. Following the conclusion of the Third Great Human Civil War, the Frentierists found themselves in the dominant position, and quickly worked to reshape the galaxy, the Stellar League, in their image. Of particular consequence, the Third Generation of the Standard Build Template System was build with the privatization of the templates in mind, and many systems which had adopted more communitarian, or at least, less market driven economic bases were forced to privatize their economies, with the remaining Stellar Socialists Driven underground.

The Jred Scourge however, brought an end to this domination. With the comfortable elites of the core of Civilized Space seemingly unconcerned with affairs on the Frontier until they had escalated beyond the control of the Stellar League, many rebel movements began to grow. These rebel movements eventually became incredibly destabilizing influences in the fina years of the Scourge. Though most attribute the death of galactic civilization to The Great Cataclysm, some scholars have come to the conclusion that, even without it, the rebellions that were starting to occur at the end of the Scourge would have escalated into another Great Human Civil War had the Cataclysm not brought the galaxy to its knees. Regardless, with the Great Cataclysm, and the reformation of the Stellar League into the Union of Sol and other successor states, the dominance of the Frentierist ideology came to an end.

In the post Long Night galaxy, there has been a resurgence in organized civilization, and interconnectedness, leaving open the door for the reestablishment of a Frentierist galactic order. However, in the dark other ideological movements, such as Solism and a rapidly spreading renaissance of the Stelsoc, the Frentierist powers found new competition. Some consolidated into alliances, with the Saratov Antisocialist Organization (SASO) being the most influential, and others sought to compromise or contain the growth of outside influences. Others however, collapsed into civil war, or interstate conflict. In this new world, the future of the Frentierist movement seems uncertain.

Frentierist States and Organizations

The Centauri Republic is the most influential and powerful Frentierist state, inheriting much of what Stellar League traditions and power bases that weren’t absorbed and retained by the Union of Sol. However, it is also the least interested in ideological conflict, seeing any Solists, Stellar Socialists, or Techno-Barbarians that it doesn’t have pre-existing conflicts with as trade partners and nothing more.

The Republic of Istengrav, despite being less powerful than other Frentierist states, is largely seen as the vanguard of Frentierism in the galaxy. As a founder and nominal leader of the SASO, it represents the most active proponent of Frentierist thought in the galaxy and its the home of Molotovism.

The Aseni Republic of Vega, a breakaway state from the Stelsoc Aseni Popular Rebulic is a staunch participant in the battles for influence in the galaxy. The Vegans state is a staunch proponent of the Orthodox school of Frentierist thought, though minorities are more heterodox in approach.

The Fracana League is a nominally unaligned state, but is in practice a Frentierist state with its main political parties representing Social Market and Labor Frentierist currents, and more extreme opinions relatively marginal.

The Mensa League is a loose confederation in principle, and operates primarily as a free trade league. Within the League, there are a lot of tensions, with the League government itself being staunchly orthodox, evening leaning into Indenturism at times conflicting the growing pro-labor elements with Labor Frentierists and Stelsoc adherents coming together under a religious banner in the form the Harakat Alnahda.