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| Who’s Who The Rationalist Party |
The Rationalist Party was a pro-business interstellar political party active in the mid to late 40s rS, shown by Planet of Twilight to have had
significant influence throughout the galaxy; it is even known to have operated across political borders. In 48 rS, the Princess Leia of Alderaan, Chief
of State of the New Republic, remarked that the Rationalists “have adherents both in the Republic and in nearly every piece of the Empire still big
enough to field a fleet.” General Han Solo also reflected that the Rationalists had “too much influence both in the New Republic and in the various
fragments of the old Empire” to be taken lightly.
Most of the clear statements of the party’s beliefs come from leaders within the party, and are thus couched in rhetoric. One local party leader
described the party as advocating “planetary trade with the New Republic” and “technology and proper exploitation of the planet’s resources”; a
populist, he framed his advocacy in terms of free markets and opportunity for entrepreneurs, freeholders, and small businesses. The theme of
“proper exploitation of the planet’s resources” was repeated by another Rationalist leader, who described a secret conference with Rationalists
outside the New Republic as potentially being “the key to the entire policy of beneficial usage of untapped planetary resources.” At one point the
Princess Leia reflects that “most Rationalists” were “enchanted by gadgetry,” and that many had advocated providing the Chief of State with an
“executive honor guard” of Loronar synthdroids, arguing that “in addition to eliminating any further need to use the Noghri, it would be cheaper to
maintain in the long run and provide more uniform security with less chance of betrayal or individual error.”
Although one hesitates to draw too many conclusions from such general dialogue, it seems pretty reasonable to conclude that the Rationalists are a
party of free-marketeers rather than mercantilists or protectionists, and that many are ardent technophiles. This is at least the impression of their
politics held by their opponents; in Planet of Twilight one Rationalist leader acknowledges that “there’s been a great deal of ill said about the
Rationalist Party over the past few years,” but insists that “we’re not the — the strip-mining capitalists we’ve been portrayed.”
Although there are not many details about the Party’s structure, it is confirmed that local Rationalist Parties are organized at the planetary level;
Planet of Twilight mentions the Rationalist Party of Calamari and the Rationalist Party of Nam Chorios, both of which are led by local politicians
noted for their rhetorical skills. The leader of the Calamarian Rationalists, Senator Q-Varx – who is also called Representative Q-Varx, Councillor Q-
Varx, and Q-Varg in the text of Planet of Twilight – was evidently one of the Party’s floor leaders in the New Republic Senate; given that each
“primary member” is entitled to only one Senator, this indicates that the Rationalists had at least enough influence in the Calamarian government to
secure for their leader Q-Varx – “of the Rationalist sympathies and inexhaustible rhetoric” – the politically important appointment to the Senate,
indicating that one of the pillars of the New Republic was controlled by Rationalist interests.
In 48 rS, Han Solo commented that the Rationalist Party and the Rights of Sentience Party were “ready to split the Council in half,” referring to the
same Council of which Q-Varx himself was a member – variously called the Grand Council, the Galactic Council, and the Senate Inner Council in
Planet of Twilight. Cracken’s Threat Dossier identifies this Inner Council with the Ruling Council of Tyrant’s Test, and specifies that it is composed
of the President of the Senate – a title and position held ex officio by the Chief of State – and the chairbeings of the Senate’s various councils (viz.,
the Senate Councils on the Ministry, the Common Defense, Justice, Finance, Commerce, Security & Intelligence, and Science), and states that these
councils are “appointed bodies with autonomous decision-making and appropriate authority over some segment of government operations,” with the
added fact that “the most populous and powerful members of the New Republic are disproportionately represented on the Senate’s councils.” Given
that the Rationalists controlled about half of the Ruling Council, this indicates that local Rationalist Parties controlled a number of important primary
members of the New Republic (not only enough to be well-represented on the councils, but enough to be able to secure the chair of three or four of
them).
At any rate, Q-Varx was involved in the arrangement of a secret meeting between the Princess Leia and the leader of the Rationalist Party of Nam
Chorios, the supposed Seti Ashgad Jr (in reality, “Ashgad Jr” was simply Seti Ashgad, the so-called “Golden Tempter” and Galactic Senator who
had been regarded as a serious rival to Palpatine of Naboo in the last days of the old Republic; he had been ‘disappeared’ in 16 rS and exiled to Nam
Chorios), arguing that “the case of the Newcomer minority on Nam Chorios could very well turn into a test case for the whole issue of self-
determination.” It was subsequently uncovered that Q-Varx had received a payoff from Loronar Corporation to arrange the meeting, as part of a
byzantine plot to incapacitate the Chief of State and the New Republic Government while inciting instability in Meridian Sector to allow the Moff
of Antemeridian to invade and secure Nam Chorios’s resources for Loronar’s exploitation. Presumably, Q-Varx was also the intelligence leak that
New Republic Intelligence (NRI) had identified in the Council, through which classified information had been making its way to warlords like
Getelles, the Moff of I, and Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, leader of Daala’s zombified Empire. Q-Varx himself was almost certainly censured, removed,
and brought up on criminal charges, but it is unlikely that the scandal could have significantly broken the Rationalist Party of the New Republic’s
sizeable political base (it goes without saying that the various Rationalist Parties in Imperialist space would probably benefit from the Party’s
perceived willingness to help Palpatinist governments).
The Rationalists’ apparent comfort with Palpatinist governments is interesting in and of itself, indicating that the Rationalist Party is not necessarily
tied to a particular form of government. Although there is no evidence of when the Party came into existence, it seems a likely candidate for having
been a coalition partner with the New Order Party during the height of the Empire, as its pro-business and populist stances would mesh comfortably
with the basic doctrines of Palpatinism-Tarkinism. It is an established fact that the Imperial State had a comfortable relationship with numerous
multistellar corporations, including Loronar Corporation – which had ties to the Rationalist Party in the late 40s, having been a prime conspirator in
the plot to destabilize the New Republic in Meridian Sector – , and the Empire is known to have frequently turned a blind eye to the kind of
exploitative profiteering and robber-barony of the kind Loronar is known to have favored (the very kind that Rationalist opponents accused the
Party of supporting). In short, the Rationalist Party seems to have been thoroughly compatible with Palpatinist principles and doctrine, and if the
Party existed during the Palpatinic era, it would have found a ready and willing partner in the dominant New Order Party.
This author has further suggested that the Rationalist Party may have existed in the last days of the old Republic, in the 0s and 10s rS. There was a
significant voting bloc in the Senate in those years that advocated free-market policies, often with close connections with large consortiums like the
Trade Federation, Commerce Guild, Techno Union, Corporate Alliance, InterGalactic Banking Clan, and Mining Guild (note that Palpatine of Naboo
himself had close ties with certain multistellar corporations in the Galactic Corporate Policy League). One such pro-business politician, Senator Aks
Moe (Malastare), invoked Section 523A of the Senate’s bylaws in The Phantom Menace to force Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum to table further
discussion of the TradeFed’s alleged invasion and occupation of Naboo pending the findings of an investigative commission; another Malastarian
politician, Senator Ainlee Teem (Malastare) was a known leader among the free-marketeers and was nominated for the Supreme Chancellery after the
fall of the Valorum Government in 3 rS (the other candidates were Senator Prince Bail Antilles (Alderaan), leader of the Core Worlds conservatives,
and Senator Palpatine of Naboo (Naboo), a dark horse candidate put forth by a tertium quid).
The natural objection to this identification of the free-marketeers with the Rationalists is that Rationalist politics are known to have been compatible
with Palpatinist ideology, and that Rationalist Parties were influential even in post-Palpatine warlord states; the free-marketeers spoke in support of
the TradeFed during the Naboo Crisis (which propelled Palpatine of Naboo to the office of Supreme Chancellor), and supported politics generally
compatible with the laissez-faire Separatist ideology advocated by the Count of Serenno in Attack of the Clones and other Clone War-era sources.
However, the known fact is that not all free-marketeers were Separatists; “Palpatine Sets Army Vote Date” shows that Aks Moe was a prominent
Loyalist and advocate of the Military Creation Bill, and “Palpatine forms Loyalist Committee” shows that he was one of the first and most
prominent appointees to Palpatine’s Loyalist Committee. In fact, “Senator Moe Killed in Blast” mentions that Moe’s assassination on 13:4:4 was
suspected of having been carried out by Separatist terrorists. The GCPL’s relationship with Palpatine in the Han Solo and the Corporate Sector
Sourcebook demonstrates that some major corporations remained loyal to the Republic despite the radically corporatist politics dominant in the
Separatist-backed Confederacy of Independent Systems, and the fact that the Rationalists remained powerful and influential in the New Republic
and in the various Imperialist splinter-states in Planet of Twilight demonstrates that it is fully in character for Rationalists not to let something so
trivial as a state of war to interfere with their politics.
References:
Brooks, Terry. The Phantom Menace. Del Rey Books, 1999.
Campbell, Drew, Matt Hong, Timothy S. O'Brien, Jen Seiden and Eric S. Trautmann. Cracken's Threat Dossier. West End Games, 1997.
Hambly, Barbara. Planet of Twilight. Bantam Books, 1997.
Horne, Michael Allen. Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook. West End Games, 1993.
Lucas, George. Attack of the Clones. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 2002.
Lucas, George. The Phantom Menace. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1999.
Luceno, James. Cloak of Deception. Del Rey Books, 2000.
“Palpatine forms Loyalist Committee.” HoloNet News Vol. 531, No. 49. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2002.
“Palpatine Sets Army Vote Date.” HoloNet News Vol. 531, No. 46. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2002.
Salvatore, Robert A. Attack of the Clones. Del Rey Books, 2002.
“Senator Moe Killed in Blast.” HoloNet News Vol. 531, No. 50. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2002.
significant influence throughout the galaxy; it is even known to have operated across political borders. In 48 rS, the Princess Leia of Alderaan, Chief
of State of the New Republic, remarked that the Rationalists “have adherents both in the Republic and in nearly every piece of the Empire still big
enough to field a fleet.” General Han Solo also reflected that the Rationalists had “too much influence both in the New Republic and in the various
fragments of the old Empire” to be taken lightly.
Most of the clear statements of the party’s beliefs come from leaders within the party, and are thus couched in rhetoric. One local party leader
described the party as advocating “planetary trade with the New Republic” and “technology and proper exploitation of the planet’s resources”; a
populist, he framed his advocacy in terms of free markets and opportunity for entrepreneurs, freeholders, and small businesses. The theme of
“proper exploitation of the planet’s resources” was repeated by another Rationalist leader, who described a secret conference with Rationalists
outside the New Republic as potentially being “the key to the entire policy of beneficial usage of untapped planetary resources.” At one point the
Princess Leia reflects that “most Rationalists” were “enchanted by gadgetry,” and that many had advocated providing the Chief of State with an
“executive honor guard” of Loronar synthdroids, arguing that “in addition to eliminating any further need to use the Noghri, it would be cheaper to
maintain in the long run and provide more uniform security with less chance of betrayal or individual error.”
Although one hesitates to draw too many conclusions from such general dialogue, it seems pretty reasonable to conclude that the Rationalists are a
party of free-marketeers rather than mercantilists or protectionists, and that many are ardent technophiles. This is at least the impression of their
politics held by their opponents; in Planet of Twilight one Rationalist leader acknowledges that “there’s been a great deal of ill said about the
Rationalist Party over the past few years,” but insists that “we’re not the — the strip-mining capitalists we’ve been portrayed.”
Although there are not many details about the Party’s structure, it is confirmed that local Rationalist Parties are organized at the planetary level;
Planet of Twilight mentions the Rationalist Party of Calamari and the Rationalist Party of Nam Chorios, both of which are led by local politicians
noted for their rhetorical skills. The leader of the Calamarian Rationalists, Senator Q-Varx – who is also called Representative Q-Varx, Councillor Q-
Varx, and Q-Varg in the text of Planet of Twilight – was evidently one of the Party’s floor leaders in the New Republic Senate; given that each
“primary member” is entitled to only one Senator, this indicates that the Rationalists had at least enough influence in the Calamarian government to
secure for their leader Q-Varx – “of the Rationalist sympathies and inexhaustible rhetoric” – the politically important appointment to the Senate,
indicating that one of the pillars of the New Republic was controlled by Rationalist interests.
In 48 rS, Han Solo commented that the Rationalist Party and the Rights of Sentience Party were “ready to split the Council in half,” referring to the
same Council of which Q-Varx himself was a member – variously called the Grand Council, the Galactic Council, and the Senate Inner Council in
Planet of Twilight. Cracken’s Threat Dossier identifies this Inner Council with the Ruling Council of Tyrant’s Test, and specifies that it is composed
of the President of the Senate – a title and position held ex officio by the Chief of State – and the chairbeings of the Senate’s various councils (viz.,
the Senate Councils on the Ministry, the Common Defense, Justice, Finance, Commerce, Security & Intelligence, and Science), and states that these
councils are “appointed bodies with autonomous decision-making and appropriate authority over some segment of government operations,” with the
added fact that “the most populous and powerful members of the New Republic are disproportionately represented on the Senate’s councils.” Given
that the Rationalists controlled about half of the Ruling Council, this indicates that local Rationalist Parties controlled a number of important primary
members of the New Republic (not only enough to be well-represented on the councils, but enough to be able to secure the chair of three or four of
them).
At any rate, Q-Varx was involved in the arrangement of a secret meeting between the Princess Leia and the leader of the Rationalist Party of Nam
Chorios, the supposed Seti Ashgad Jr (in reality, “Ashgad Jr” was simply Seti Ashgad, the so-called “Golden Tempter” and Galactic Senator who
had been regarded as a serious rival to Palpatine of Naboo in the last days of the old Republic; he had been ‘disappeared’ in 16 rS and exiled to Nam
Chorios), arguing that “the case of the Newcomer minority on Nam Chorios could very well turn into a test case for the whole issue of self-
determination.” It was subsequently uncovered that Q-Varx had received a payoff from Loronar Corporation to arrange the meeting, as part of a
byzantine plot to incapacitate the Chief of State and the New Republic Government while inciting instability in Meridian Sector to allow the Moff
of Antemeridian to invade and secure Nam Chorios’s resources for Loronar’s exploitation. Presumably, Q-Varx was also the intelligence leak that
New Republic Intelligence (NRI) had identified in the Council, through which classified information had been making its way to warlords like
Getelles, the Moff of I, and Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, leader of Daala’s zombified Empire. Q-Varx himself was almost certainly censured, removed,
and brought up on criminal charges, but it is unlikely that the scandal could have significantly broken the Rationalist Party of the New Republic’s
sizeable political base (it goes without saying that the various Rationalist Parties in Imperialist space would probably benefit from the Party’s
perceived willingness to help Palpatinist governments).
The Rationalists’ apparent comfort with Palpatinist governments is interesting in and of itself, indicating that the Rationalist Party is not necessarily
tied to a particular form of government. Although there is no evidence of when the Party came into existence, it seems a likely candidate for having
been a coalition partner with the New Order Party during the height of the Empire, as its pro-business and populist stances would mesh comfortably
with the basic doctrines of Palpatinism-Tarkinism. It is an established fact that the Imperial State had a comfortable relationship with numerous
multistellar corporations, including Loronar Corporation – which had ties to the Rationalist Party in the late 40s, having been a prime conspirator in
the plot to destabilize the New Republic in Meridian Sector – , and the Empire is known to have frequently turned a blind eye to the kind of
exploitative profiteering and robber-barony of the kind Loronar is known to have favored (the very kind that Rationalist opponents accused the
Party of supporting). In short, the Rationalist Party seems to have been thoroughly compatible with Palpatinist principles and doctrine, and if the
Party existed during the Palpatinic era, it would have found a ready and willing partner in the dominant New Order Party.
This author has further suggested that the Rationalist Party may have existed in the last days of the old Republic, in the 0s and 10s rS. There was a
significant voting bloc in the Senate in those years that advocated free-market policies, often with close connections with large consortiums like the
Trade Federation, Commerce Guild, Techno Union, Corporate Alliance, InterGalactic Banking Clan, and Mining Guild (note that Palpatine of Naboo
himself had close ties with certain multistellar corporations in the Galactic Corporate Policy League). One such pro-business politician, Senator Aks
Moe (Malastare), invoked Section 523A of the Senate’s bylaws in The Phantom Menace to force Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum to table further
discussion of the TradeFed’s alleged invasion and occupation of Naboo pending the findings of an investigative commission; another Malastarian
politician, Senator Ainlee Teem (Malastare) was a known leader among the free-marketeers and was nominated for the Supreme Chancellery after the
fall of the Valorum Government in 3 rS (the other candidates were Senator Prince Bail Antilles (Alderaan), leader of the Core Worlds conservatives,
and Senator Palpatine of Naboo (Naboo), a dark horse candidate put forth by a tertium quid).
The natural objection to this identification of the free-marketeers with the Rationalists is that Rationalist politics are known to have been compatible
with Palpatinist ideology, and that Rationalist Parties were influential even in post-Palpatine warlord states; the free-marketeers spoke in support of
the TradeFed during the Naboo Crisis (which propelled Palpatine of Naboo to the office of Supreme Chancellor), and supported politics generally
compatible with the laissez-faire Separatist ideology advocated by the Count of Serenno in Attack of the Clones and other Clone War-era sources.
However, the known fact is that not all free-marketeers were Separatists; “Palpatine Sets Army Vote Date” shows that Aks Moe was a prominent
Loyalist and advocate of the Military Creation Bill, and “Palpatine forms Loyalist Committee” shows that he was one of the first and most
prominent appointees to Palpatine’s Loyalist Committee. In fact, “Senator Moe Killed in Blast” mentions that Moe’s assassination on 13:4:4 was
suspected of having been carried out by Separatist terrorists. The GCPL’s relationship with Palpatine in the Han Solo and the Corporate Sector
Sourcebook demonstrates that some major corporations remained loyal to the Republic despite the radically corporatist politics dominant in the
Separatist-backed Confederacy of Independent Systems, and the fact that the Rationalists remained powerful and influential in the New Republic
and in the various Imperialist splinter-states in Planet of Twilight demonstrates that it is fully in character for Rationalists not to let something so
trivial as a state of war to interfere with their politics.
References:
Brooks, Terry. The Phantom Menace. Del Rey Books, 1999.
Campbell, Drew, Matt Hong, Timothy S. O'Brien, Jen Seiden and Eric S. Trautmann. Cracken's Threat Dossier. West End Games, 1997.
Hambly, Barbara. Planet of Twilight. Bantam Books, 1997.
Horne, Michael Allen. Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook. West End Games, 1993.
Lucas, George. Attack of the Clones. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 2002.
Lucas, George. The Phantom Menace. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1999.
Luceno, James. Cloak of Deception. Del Rey Books, 2000.
“Palpatine forms Loyalist Committee.” HoloNet News Vol. 531, No. 49. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2002.
“Palpatine Sets Army Vote Date.” HoloNet News Vol. 531, No. 46. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2002.
Salvatore, Robert A. Attack of the Clones. Del Rey Books, 2002.
“Senator Moe Killed in Blast.” HoloNet News Vol. 531, No. 50. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2002.
| This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement of any kind is intended. Star Wars and related materials are © Lucasfilm Ltd., which reserves all rights thereto. All original material is © Julius Sykes. Please do not use without permission. |
| This biography was originally added in 2006. It was republished on 15 March 2008. |