EVE Fiction

Hello everyone.

I'm relatively new to this game, and have really grown to love the setting and lore. I'd like to get into the RP scene once I get my ducks in a row, but have run into some questions while developing a backstory for my character. I would love to hear others' thoughts, or if there are any chronicles, fiction, or wiki entries that shed some light on this stuff. This is a pretty long post as I have a lot of questions, and contains heaps of arbitrary generalizations and assumptions, so read at your peril!

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This part in the "Baselining" wiki article recently caught my eye: "The style of social cohesion within the Republic means that there has never been an elite class amongst the Minmatar, with the exception of high-ranking tribal members."

I think that this is true in some respects, but I would also argue that there is an pan-tribal elite class amongst the Minmatar, although it isn't very old or established.

In some ways the lines above conflict with this portion of the "Minmatar" wiki entry: "The tribal community was ideally suited for nomads, but remarkably the Minmatar kept their strong tribal ties after urbanization began, even if some of its more strict aspects have declined in recent times, such as the stringent caste system and (for some of the tribes) acreage serfdom for farmers and workers."

I think that the nature of New Eden's economy, the growth of the administrative state in the Republic (assuming that this has occurred, it seems likely), the above ancient cultural norms, and centuries of slavery, exploitation, and exposure to Amarrian society would have created at least a few clans or subclans amongst the Matari that enjoy an elite status, irrespective of their tribe or occupation of tribal leadership positions. There's some problems with this theory though.

I think the biggest factor is property ownership. I think that the Minmatar system of property management is controlled at a tribal level, and probably varies somewhat between the major tribes.

One wrench in this theory is Urban Management, who supposedly doles out state-owned land. This implies that the Republic may be a very large landowner, which seems a little strange to me. I would think that the tribes would be the largest landowners, and would dole out property amongst their clans in various ways.

However, I'm not sure how far this goes. For example, do tribes own all property in the Republic, which is then simply "used" (indefinitely) by their individual clans? Does the Sebiestor tribe own the lot your house is built on? Do they own your car? If you paint a picture and sell it, does the tribe get the proceeds?

These examples are pretty simple, but when you consider the mind-blowing complexity of the Eve economy (both in-game and in chrons/fiction) it seems like things could get very complicated.

Going back to the subject of elites, it seems like this makes it very hard for an individual family or subclan (or possibly clan, even) to accumulate wealth. Then again, I would imagine that the large Minmatar Corporations, even those that are tribally owned, pay their workers in hard currency, as would any foreign companies operating in the Republic.

Republic bureaucrats and military personnel are probably also paid in hard currency. On its own this may not allow for the accumulation of vast fortunes, but there are probably many Matari who do very well.

If this money was invested outside the Republic, or the auspices/authority of one's tribe, I think vast fortunes could accumulate over a few decades. At the same time, this wealth is definitely spread around, creating clans and subclans that are very wealthy, rather than individual families.

I think you could take this a step further when you consider that individual clans and subclans seem to be based on occupation. It does depend on how specialized clans and subclans are though. Is there a clan of doctors? What about a clan of divorce attorneys? Or are clans divided along the lines of "people who are good at math," "people who enjoy assisting others," etc.? I think the latter is probably closer to reality.

Does a "scientist" clan contain subclans of physicists, chemists, etc.? Does a clan of traders contain subclans who are made up of hedge fund managers, and subclans full of people who sell knock-off gold chains in bazaars?

Basically, I am not sure how egalitarian (in terms of socio-economic class) Minmatar society is. There seems to be signs that it is relatively equal, at least in terms of the distribution of wealth. However, there are also vast slums inhabited by recently freed slaves, and as I've stated above there have to be at least some people with a lot of wealth and power.

At the risk of making a real world comparison, is the Republic more like China or South Africa (places with a high degree of income inequality), or is it more like Sweden or Denmark? I'm not saying that Sweden and Denmark are socialist paradises where there aren't any poor people or a privileged upper class, just that compared to other countries, there is less of a gap between the rich and poor in both places.

Thanks to anyone who stuck with this, I'd appreciate any thoughts or feedback!