lostshaker

"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt." John Adams, 1826

Civilizations have historically fallen by the same formula: politicians and bankers conspire to form a central bank, which prints money and artificially expands the monetary supply. Politicians benefit from the arrangement, because they receive funds for their campaigns and the ability to distribute funds to their voting or any other favored constituency. The bankers benefit from the arrangement, because their counterfeiting scheme (the monetization of debt; a monopoly on money) is politically protected. The banks are thus permitted to make loans to domestic and foreign governments, collecting indefinite interest, because everyone (the bankers and politicians) knows these loans will never be repaid. Repaying means raising taxes, and politicians can only raise taxes so high before they're thrown out of office.

Inflation results as a consequence of monetary expansion. The more finite a material is, the more value it retains. Thus, value declines as the monetary supply expands. Therefore, inflation is nothing more the devaluation of the monetary unit. At this stage, the mother country enters an imperialistic phase, conquering other nations to transfer wealth back to the mother country and (temporarily) offset the devaluation of its currency.

So how does this apply to The Old Republic and the Clone Wars?

Bankers make loans to developing governments in the Mid Rim, knowing these loans will never be repaid and thus permitting bankers to collect indefinite interest. A form of perpetual slavery is created on these remote worlds... the governments can only raise taxes so high, so only the interest can be paid on these loans. And because the people are continually being taxed, money cannot be saved and invested in proper economic development. 

Eventually, the Mid Rim people wise up to governmental corruption and revolts begin. If these revolts prove successful, the bankers will lose their perpetual income when the Mid Rim territories declare bankruptcy, liquidate debt, and start a new. The bankers have all the motivation in the world to aid the foreign governments against the revolutionaries.

The bankers attack the situation two ways. The first plan involves lending money to more of the Mid Rim governments, only for the purpose of creating clone armies. As a condition of the loan, the clone armies must invade the Mid Rim planets in revolt and establish a military occupation. The establishment of military bases guarantees interest payments for the bankers and a continuation of their fiscal scheme. 

The bankers' second plan is to infiltrate the government of the Old Republic by funding corrupt political candidates. After obtaining office, these candidates approve various and incremental policies of foreign aggression and domestic protectionism. As the Republic grows corrupt, the Jedi condemn military intervention - an act of aggression born from fear and anger - and refuse to participate. Many Jedi colonize new worlds, which are meant to exemplify civilization and productivity. They are to be a stark contrast to the corrupting influences that have seized the Republic. Hopefully, other Republic worlds will grow to mimic the Jedi colonies. 

As the first imperial wars erupt, other solar systems want clone armies for their own protection. An arms race begins where the armies tend to be used for foreign aggression as opposed to domestic defense. 

While numerous solar systems within the Republic have nullified attempts to raise a clone army, they have failed to prevent the bankers from controlling the monetary supply. Such control has led not only to the Clone Wars, but to monetary devaluation in the Republic. Governments are in extreme debt.

When the bankers succeed in creating a central bank for the Republic, under the guise of banking reform, numerous planets secede from the Republic, threatened by perpetual debt. The hope is to decentralize the federal government and restore local autonomy, which has gradually been eroded by the centralist bankers and politicians. The bankers and politicians, hoping to retain power, claim false charges against the secessionists - that clones have infiltrated the secessionist governments and are trying to destroy the Republic. At this point, the Republic is a euphemism for the Galactic Empire.

I'm surprised to have only now discovered these boards after researching and working for so long on my own prequel rewrite. I've read the posts on this forum, am working my way through other threads, and much of the suggested material is good. Before I front my own stories, I'd like to respond to different posts.

I noticed that some people think Ben a jerk for "lying" to Luke with regard to his father's identity. However, such a POV neglects critical details offered by the OT.

1. OB1's primary goal was to set Luke on the path to good, going so far as to treat the R2 and the Death Star plans as a secondary concern. Had OB1 told Luke that Anakin was Vader, such knowledge would've been a burden and clouded Luke's feelings. Additionally, OB1's death (at the hand of Vader) instilled anger in Luke, forcing him to commit to the Rebel Alliance and the Force. 

2. ESB and ROTJ imply that Luke, inclusive to his training, was responsible for discovering Vader's identity. (For example, in ESB, Luke's confrontation with "Vader" in the cave on Dagobah. Luke might have discovered Vader's true identity if he had talked to Vader, instead of acting aggressively by pulling out his lightsaber. And in ROTJ, Yoda said, "Unfortunate that you rushed to face him. That incomplete was your training. Not ready for the burden were you.") Thus, Ben would've cheated Luke had he been straight with him. Perhaps Ben cheated Anakin in such a fashion, and Ben simply applied his lesson-learned to Luke.

Regarding the secrets and plot twists of the OT...

1. I believe the PT should be OB1's story with Anakin portraying a secondary consequence of OB1's recklessness. Luke's arc would thus be in parallel, portraying Vader's redemption as a consequence to Luke achieving Knighthood. OB1's presence in ANH would then serve as a passing of the baton.

2. Personally, I never felt Darth Vader's revelation was a big surprise. I was a kid and saw it from a mile away. In ESB, Vader was searching for Luke Skywalker before the Emperor ordered him to do so. Why did Vader have an obsession with finding Skywalker, yet be slightly dismissive of the Emperor's concern? While it suggested Vader was planning to overthrow the Emperor, a more subtle motivation seemed to be driving Vader. I would be interested to learn how long beforehand Vader knew of Luke's existence.

3. Leia being Luke's sister. Keeping this a secret is easy. The twins don't have to be born by the end of episode III. In fact, the mother could discover at the film's opening that she is pregnant, and everyone just assumes one baby. This makes it easier to include the mother in action sequences, as opposed to necessitating a 9 month pregnant lady running around.

On Yoda's inclusion... The OT suggested that Vader and the Emperor knew of OB1, but not Yoda (Vader: Obi-Wan can no longer help him; Obi-Wan has taught you well; Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me, now his failure is complete.) I always thought Yoda was purposefully kept a secret. And this would be easy to achieve. For example, as the Republic grew to be imperialistic, Yoda - and perhaps other Jedi - could have abandoned it. By the start of episode I, Yoda would've been absent for so long that most people in the Republic thought him dead. This would also serve OB1 - he could be on a personal mission to restore the Jedi Order, a goal of such magnitude that it serviced his pride as opposed to his ideals. With the Jedi being absent for so long, it would cause them to fall into realm of hokey religions when accounting for the Empire's propaganda.

The script for ROTJ, in a deleted scene, suggested OB1 and Owen were brothers. While I don't mind Owen and Anakin being brothers/friends, I prefer to stay true to L. Kasden's interpretation.

I'm for leaving Tatooine out, but referencing it as Anakin's home planet. Owen, as OB1's brother, could make a remark about Anakin being better off on the outskirts than in the thick of the Republic's decline.

The Clone Wars... I always thought the Clone Wars were proxy wars with Clones fighting Clones.... The Old Republic got involved with an aggressive interventionist policy, which the Jedi opposed for being born of anger, fear, and aggression. The foreign policy would financially bankrupt the Republic. Star Systems within the Republic would attempt to secede and ultimately be the start of the Rebellion.

I've also wondered about the nature of anger, fear, and aggression as it relates to the Dark Side. Anger was the catalyst for Luke's commitment to the ways of the Jedi and to the Rebellion. In a free market, fear checks excessive greed. But anger, fear, and aggression - when acting together - also describe impatience, both Anakin's and Luke's Achilles' heel.