Pros And Cons Of Karhide

Humans are inherently flawed. Us as a species is full of flaws. Therefore all institutions designed by us are flawed as well. We haven’t, and never will make a perfect government. It is simply not possible to govern as many people as their are on Earth to have them all agree to one government. Ideologies constantly butt heads with one another, and people become so entrenched within their own group that cooperation is impossible. People can’t be left to their own devices either, because humans are both good, and bad. Our kindness is only matched by our cruelty. This requires us to form governments in order to protect ourselves from ourselves. We give up some of our freedom to a government in exchange for protection from others. These stories

In Karhide the government officials must move very carefully to not misstep lest they lose the favor of the king. The king himself is even forced to play the same political games. Agraven reflects his own deeds with his advice to Ai “‘Let no one else use you, Mr. Ai,’ the king was saying. ‘Keep clear of factions. Tell your own lies, do your own deeds. And trust no one. D’you know that? Trust no one.”(Le Guin 34). The madness of the king is shown here, and this madness could easily be exploited as he seems to lack trust in general. “Damn that lying cold-blooded traitor, I trusted him. I put the silver chain around his damned neck. I wish I’d hanged him with it. I never trusted him. Never. Don’t trust anybody”(Le Guin 34). Officials would also be pressured to perform their jobs well lest they give a reason for dismissal which may be exploited by their numerous enemies. Governments often toy with this idea of ministers fighting amongst themselves in order to secure the best positions. This state of affairs is very similar to the Tsarist regime of Russia where ministers constantly vied for power amongst themselves. However this led to a lack meritocracy within the government, and made it very inefficient to run. However on the flip side imperial Germany also held a very similar battle among politicians for the monarch's power, and this

Even though the government is horribly oppressive it seems efficient at dealing with dissent. “‘Your trial would have been tomorrow but I took the plea deal they offered’”(Vagabond 179). This style of show trial is very similar to the old dictatorial regimes of the Soviet Union, and Nazi Germany. Government struggles with its subjects constantly. This is one characteristic of the former Soviet Union. This idea practically defined the old Soviet Union. People were sent to show trials, much like this one, and convicted on whatever charges they could get them on. After that they were rehabilitated to understand their society, and the role they have in it. Paranoia reigns among the people as they come to distrust even their closest friends for fear that they may hold different political views. A society like this simply can’t survive, or can it? The Soviet Union lasted a while, and really only fell to economic collapse not any distrust of the people. Similarly this distrust is shown by the nation of Orgoreyn in Left Hand of Darkness. Orgoreyn shows it’s distrust time and time again with this common question “‘Where are your papers of entry and identification?’”(Le Guin 84). People without the proper identification are shipped off to volunteer farms. Orgoreyn has an obsession with the proper papers :If they had had anything, it would have been their papers. Better to be naked than to lack papers, in Orgoreyn”(Le Guin 119).