Anti-political functionalism

Anti-political functionalism was a political philosophy espoused by some Evon, an important species-nation in BHH. Anti-political functionalists were one of the two traditional camps in Evonian politics, opposed to the radical egalitarians. They saw society as a complex system and believed that the goal of politics was to make that system stable. Society ought to run like clockwork and should never need to be changed. Anti-political functionalists also argued that the state should be dominated by technical experts appointed on merit, as statecraft should be understood as a skills-based vocation like any other rather than a unique position of power.

Ajax Inuta Krassen was an anti-political functionalist. His disapproval of most politicians and the rough-and-tumble nature of frontline politics was typical of the camp's attitude to the Evonian political system. Stereotypically, anti-political functionalism was associated with B-type Evon like Ajax, whereas radical egalitarianism was associated with A-types.

Positions

Economics

Like other Evon, most anti-political functionalists were socialists. However, a minority preferred classical economics, arguing that Evon were rational enough to approximate the economic man and had enough easy access to information (through BHH-era technology) to approximate perfect information, allowing the ideal free market described by Adam Smith to exist in practice on Evonia. Socialist anti-political functionalists had a stronger preference for central planning and state bureaucracy than their radical egalitarian counterparts.

Democracy

Radical egalitarians charged anti-political functionalists with being opposed to democracy, and there was some truth in the allegation. Anti-political functionalists simultaneously believed that social systems ought to be essentially static and that the day-to-day administration of the state should be undertaken by appointed, rather than elected, officials, so in their schema, there was significantly reduced scope for democracy relative to the radical egalitarian (or even the liberal democratic) model.

However, anti-political functionalists saw the static, self-sustaining equilibrium for which they strive as a far-off ideal rather than something immediately available to the government. Elected anti-political functionalist governments never made any attempt to undermine the democratic system that put them into office. Furthermore, most anti-political structuralist also conceded — or even argued for, claiming that the radical egalitarian insistence on a class of politicians weakens — the role of democracy in changing society when change is necessary.

Astropolitics

Anti-political functionalists emphasised the importance of the traditional Evonian alliance with Olympa, were (comparatively) sceptical towards the Monaloe nations, and strongly supported the Central Galactic Congress.

Evon romance

The vast majority of anti-political functionalists held conventional views on Evon romance. However, some radical anti-political functionalists used the philosophy to argue that the system should be abolished. They resented the complexities of Evon romance and felt that its arcane categories and the cultural reverence of love on Evonia obscured the purpose of relationships in upholding the social order. In their view, the general anti-political functionalist line that individuals should integrate on the basis of their common interests and needs was equally applicable to the realm of 'romantic' relationships: the otherwise-rational Evon, these radicals said, had a blind spot about love, and should be less sentimental about romance.

Frontline politics

Part of the two-party system

In the era immediately preceding BHH, until around fifteen years before the Fourth Army formed, anti-political functionalists voted to support the Anti-political Functionalist Party in the courts and councils. It tended to command between 35 and 40 per cent of the popular vote, with its rivals the Radical Egalitarian Party commanding a similar vote share. Though labelled 'parties', these were unofficial political factions rather than organised political parties; think of sentences like "the Crown struggled to establish a party in Parliament" or "Parliament divided into 'Court' and 'Country' Parties". That said, there was some national campaigning, though each individual candidate was free to decide how much they wished to affiliate themselves to a party.

When Ciarraí and Sabriel pulled together their own faction, the Evon Party, it was initially perceived as a wholly new third way and took support from the Anti-political Functionalist Party. Of the two, Sabriel was seen as more palatable to anti-political functionalists, as she was more sensible and interested in stability. It soon became clear that the Evon Party was closer to radical egalitarianism, and the two factions merged, though a significant number of radical egalitarians rejected Ciarraí and Sabriel and formed their own bloc.

In the subsequent election, the new Ciarraí and Sabriel-led faction focused heavily on winning support from anti-political functionalists, winning an endorsement from Ajax Inuta Krassen, a prominent B-type scientist. In contrast, the Anti-political Functionalist Party tried to rally its traditional supporters against what it called a "monstrous conjunction of communism and nostalgia", referring to the old radical egalitarians and Ciarraí and Sabriel's new appeals to traditional Evonian values. Many anti-political functionalists rejected their traditional party's arguments and lent their votes to Ciarraí and Sabriel, who were able to form a powerful new Government. The Government's support with this group was reinforced by deliberate policy decisions aimed at appealing to them, and by the resignation of Ciarraí, leaving Sabriel to govern in her own stability-focused style.

Era of BHH

In the era of BHH, the government (which was a continuation of the previous Radical Egalitarian Party after its merger with the Evon Party) tended to command between 55 and 60 per cent of popular support, the Anti-political Functionalist Party around 20 per cent, the anti-Sabriel radical egalitarians between 15 and 20 per cent, and the Classical Party between 5 and 10 per cent. The Anti-political Functionalist Party's main political focus was opposition to the Government, which it characterised as polluted by Dark Network links and brutal politicking, obsessed with unnecessary social change, and overly hawkish in its foreign relations, particularly over ethical crusades like its opposition to Helltuna's attacks on Monaloe nations.

Though the Anti-political Functionalist Party itself was the main Opposition, around half of self-described anti-political functionalists in the population actually voted for the Government. Furthermore, the Party drew some of its support from tactical anti-Government votes by anti-Sabriel radical egalitarians — a phenomenon that the Government liked to emphasise, hoping to further alienate the Party from anti-political functionalist voters.