Government

>        Like most things in terms of government, this sounds dynamite on paper,
>but actual implementation is much different.  Problem that you'd run
>into is that people just don't get along.  Public opinion can sway and
>change both quickly and slowly over time.  Corruption is always a
>problem, and fights between various factions always spells trouble.
>People fighting over limited resources for pet projects could get nasty
>if drastic cuts or changes have to be made for the "greater good,"
>threatening to single out a single group or race that becomes
>rebellious.  Government is not something that can easily be done by any
>stretch of the imagination (heck, the problems I mentioned are the
>lesser ones that most governments must deal with on a daily basis).
>        The only real way I can see to manage such vast empires is through a
>healthy dose of fear and resource management.  Control the spelljammers
>and thus the people (you don't want to be ruled by the emperor?  that's
>ok; we don't need to sell you water anymore).  Problem is, vast empires
>in the billions tends to have wide-scale corruption, nightmarish
>beaurcacies, and other problems that makes government work slowly and
>largely ineffectual.
>--
>Night Druid

Vast empires also tend to remain intact due to human inertia:)  In the
premodern age, empires and such tended to follow the "60 day rule",  an
Empire could exert its authority as far as it would take messengers to
reach in 60 days.  This is not an exact rule, of course, but it is a
reasonable guideline.  Note that this presupposes the empire has the
resources to send, which is most often unlikely.  The actual number of
inhabitents is actually a secondary consideration,  in most Empires it is
the relatively sparsely populated frontier lands (those on the edge of that
60 days) which cause the most trouble (like independence movements,
imperial usurpers, and the like).  I don't think AStromundi is that screwy
in the government department, though i admit I haven't read it carefully in
a year or so:)

"We look on the same stars,  the sky is common,  the same world surrounds
us.  What difference does it make by what pains each seeks the truth?  We
can not attain to so great a secret by one road..."
Symmachus,  "Memorial on the Occasion of the Removal of the Altar of
Victory from the Senate House" (392 AD)

Paul Westermeyer,  westermeyer.3@???.edu
Phd Candidate, History, Ohio State
Adjunct Faculty, Humanities Department, Columbus State Community College