Misery
Freedom in capitalist society always remains about the same as it was in ancient Greek republics: Freedom for slave owners.
-- Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
I wanted to start off this entry with a quote from Lenin, more or less as a reminder of one of the particular evils of our history which will not feature in the DoD timeline: the totalitarian imposition of communism. Given some of the rather unpleasant events which feature in this timeline, one could be forgiven for assuming that it is meant to represent a dystopia for the entire world. It isn't, however.
The DoD timeline features a dystopic United States. About as dystopic a United States as possible while still retaining at least a form of democracy, in fact. But it doesn't feature an entire dystopic world, largely because I don't believe that would be either realistic or entertaining to read about. The nature of the United States in this history means that for the neighbouring parts of the world, particularly most of Latin America, their history is also rather dystopic. The prospects for some parts of Western Europe, especially France and Britain, are not all that rosy either. However, some parts of the world will do better for the changes, particularly Central Europe and Russia, which will not see anything like the Nazis or the Soviet Union, and in some cases will see liberal democracy appear generations ahead of when it happened in our history. There isn't a nation in the DoD TL which would find anything but horror in the genocides witnessed in the Third Reich, and they would think little better of the purges or the gulag. Nor will there be a Cultural Revolution in China, or anything approximating it, although the Taipings will not be entirely pleasant while they last.
And, while it should go without saying, I should also add that there is a distinct difference between the views of some of the characters expressed in the timelime and the views of the author. I find nothing but horror in the prospect of continued slavery into the twentieth century on a scale much greater than happened in our history. (Yes, I know slavery is practiced in the present day, but this is far worse). Writing through the perspective of some of the racist, slaveocentric and bigoted characters who appear in this history takes a distinct effort, and is never entirely pleasant. Especially James Fisher in some of his darker moments. But I try to show that, from their own point of view, these people are behaving in ways which are consistent and 'reasonable'. It doesn't mean I like it or them, though, and there's a good reason why most of the viewpoint characters are either moderates (at least in the USA sense of the term) or from other countries.
On another note, Decades of Darkness is going on temporary hiatus for a couple of weeks while I'll be overseas. It should resume sometime in late October, where there's still lots going on. There's the history of the Second Napoleonic Wars to wrap up, the political changes in the USA which lead to the election of President Mahan and the Federalists in New England, some developments in Canada with the Nephites (alt-Mormons), the war in South America, and a few other miscellaneous posts to tidy up. There's a lot of the 1880s still to be covered.
Cheers,
Kaiser Wilhelm III
-- Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
I wanted to start off this entry with a quote from Lenin, more or less as a reminder of one of the particular evils of our history which will not feature in the DoD timeline: the totalitarian imposition of communism. Given some of the rather unpleasant events which feature in this timeline, one could be forgiven for assuming that it is meant to represent a dystopia for the entire world. It isn't, however.
The DoD timeline features a dystopic United States. About as dystopic a United States as possible while still retaining at least a form of democracy, in fact. But it doesn't feature an entire dystopic world, largely because I don't believe that would be either realistic or entertaining to read about. The nature of the United States in this history means that for the neighbouring parts of the world, particularly most of Latin America, their history is also rather dystopic. The prospects for some parts of Western Europe, especially France and Britain, are not all that rosy either. However, some parts of the world will do better for the changes, particularly Central Europe and Russia, which will not see anything like the Nazis or the Soviet Union, and in some cases will see liberal democracy appear generations ahead of when it happened in our history. There isn't a nation in the DoD TL which would find anything but horror in the genocides witnessed in the Third Reich, and they would think little better of the purges or the gulag. Nor will there be a Cultural Revolution in China, or anything approximating it, although the Taipings will not be entirely pleasant while they last.
And, while it should go without saying, I should also add that there is a distinct difference between the views of some of the characters expressed in the timelime and the views of the author. I find nothing but horror in the prospect of continued slavery into the twentieth century on a scale much greater than happened in our history. (Yes, I know slavery is practiced in the present day, but this is far worse). Writing through the perspective of some of the racist, slaveocentric and bigoted characters who appear in this history takes a distinct effort, and is never entirely pleasant. Especially James Fisher in some of his darker moments. But I try to show that, from their own point of view, these people are behaving in ways which are consistent and 'reasonable'. It doesn't mean I like it or them, though, and there's a good reason why most of the viewpoint characters are either moderates (at least in the USA sense of the term) or from other countries.
On another note, Decades of Darkness is going on temporary hiatus for a couple of weeks while I'll be overseas. It should resume sometime in late October, where there's still lots going on. There's the history of the Second Napoleonic Wars to wrap up, the political changes in the USA which lead to the election of President Mahan and the Federalists in New England, some developments in Canada with the Nephites (alt-Mormons), the war in South America, and a few other miscellaneous posts to tidy up. There's a lot of the 1880s still to be covered.
Cheers,
Kaiser Wilhelm III
posted by Jared at 12:06 am
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