Mohammed Shakibnia
In Star Wars many of our favorite characters have struggled in the face of social and political crises. The Clone Wars in particular shows the impacts of a major crisis on vulnerable communities, drawing our attention to those people rendered invisible by conflict as well as those caught in its crosshairs. As we'll see, the people's‐led Separatist movement was justified as an effort to bring about self‐determination, freedom, and justice for marginalized planets that did not feel represented by the Republic. The same spirit of resistance of the Separatist movement can also be found in the citizens of the Republic itself. Both of these movements are similar to our real‐world people's‐led efforts for justice, such as Black Lives Matter (BLM) and the fight for better living conditions. The Clone Wars depicts the dangers and costs of endless militarism and highlights problems with the Jedi. Indeed, these factors, key to the Republic's downfall, are relevant in our world today where we must remain vigilant to prevent democracy from transitioning into an evil empire.
In the past few years, we have faced numerous crises and challenges. From the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic to movements centered on combating racial injustice and climate change, there has been a lot of concern, fear, and uncertainty. We've seen some of the largest social movements and uprisings in modern history centered on the pursuit of racial justice with the rise of the BLM movement. Alongside this, we have seen a new rise of class‐consciousness, with many people angered at their stagnating wages while the profits of corporations balloon. In response, there's been a reinvigorated movement of direct action, one calling for better working and living conditions through strikes, protests, and boycotts demanding treatment with dignity and respect. The episodes in The Clone Wars are pertinent in relation to the events we are witnessing today, giving us helpful tools to understand them.
Noam Chomsky and Cornel West help us make this connection to contemporary political issues. Chomsky underscores the need for progressive policies to solve issues like economic, social, and racial inequality.1 He highlights how the pandemic, in particular, has deeply exposed the pernicious impacts of social and economic inequality. Chomsky's analysis of the US government is helpful because of similarities to the Republic before its eventual demise. Both benefit the wealthy and powerful rather than represent the interests of everyday people in a truly democratic way. Chomsky argues that we must move to a more free and just society, where there is “production for need rather than production for profit,” and where working people control their own lives.2
Cornel West discusses the ways democratic traditions and values are under threat in the US, highlighting three dogmas that seriously threaten democratic sensibilities: free‐market fundamentalism, aggressive militarism, and escalating authoritarianism. The first glorifies market‐driven, for‐profit forces.3 Rather than being challenged for unethical business practices, manipulation, and worker‐mistreatment, corporations are protected by political elites. The result is an obscene amount of wealth inequality, threatening the democratic distribution of resources, power, and opportunity for ordinary people.
The second dogma comes in the form of unilateral military interventions, armed occupations, and imperialism. Most recently, these forces have played out in the Middle East post‐9/11 with the expansion of the War on Terror, leading to devastating consequences for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.4 Aggressive militarism also manifests through policies like the War on Drugs and the martial policing and criminalization of poor communities of color. In West's third dogma, fear of the “Other” and potential, hidden enemies has justified civil liberties and rights being curtailed.5 He cites how 9/11 allowed authoritarian sensibilities to take over through imperialistic acts from the Bush administration through the PATRIOT Act.
West's lens in examining these dogmas is the Socratic tradition: the commitment to questioning, reevaluating, and critiquing institutions of authority. He describes it as fearless speech (parrhesia in the original Greek) that is not afraid to make those in power uncomfortable. The Socratic tradition acknowledges that unpopularity follows from exposing abuses of power and structures that oppress the most vulnerable in our society. West also believes we should learn from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, which focused on the intersections of racial, social, and economic justice in the US and overseas. King's thoughts about racial discrimination, class struggle, and imperialism are interconnected, and these themes are also applicable to the Republic in The Clone Wars.
The dangers of the power of for‐profit and corporate interests are a central message in The Clone Wars. The show highlights the sinister nature of Star Wars' military–industrial complex, which rakes in money at the expense of people's lives. In the episode “Heroes on Both Sides,” the Republic Senate debates whether to invest in more clone soldiers, a move that would raise tensions and escalate the war. Alongside the provision for more clone troopers, the senators propose to deregulate the banking system to finance military costs. When Padmé calls for the Senate to oppose the bill, those who sponsored the legislation are enraged and senators from the Trade Federation, the Techno Union, and the Banking Clan plot to push their corruption through. A representative from the Banking Clan remarks, “That legislation would have meant billions for us!” Corporations that fund war benefit the most and their interests were prioritized in the Republic rather than a peaceful, humanitarian resolution.
Connections are also made clear with the military–industrial complex in the US. It's no coincidence that Senator Halle Burtoni, from Kamino, who strongly supports banking deregulation and creating more clones, is named after the US multinational corporation Halliburton.6 During both wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Halliburton was the prime recipient of Pentagon contracts, which included coordinating support functions for troops, setting up military bases, and maintaining military equipment.7 By 2008, the company had received over $30 billion for its involvement in the wars. Vice President Dick Cheney was well‐connected with Halliburton, having served as CEO until 2001. Accounting for the profits of the top five weapons companies during the War on Terror, there are clear benefactors as the value of defense stocks is now ten times greater than before 9/11.8
This illustrates the “revolving door” of influence in American politics and the suspect relationship between the defense industry and government officials. West would certainly criticize the pursuit of militarism by corporate interests, whether Halle Burtoni or Cheney. Under the dogma of free‐market fundamentalism, the Commerce Guild, Banking Clan, and Techno Union are elevated for their “magical powers of salvation” rather than put under democratic scrutiny.9 West asks how the leaders in the Black freedom struggle, like Dr. King, would ask us to reevaluate our prioritization of militarism. King criticized US involvement in the Vietnam War, pointing to how resources being used to drop bombs and create a larger military are antithetical to a democratic experiment with the aim of providing opportunity to all.10 King tied the struggles of Black people in America to unjust foreign wars abroad, making connections between the ways empire, race, and class operated. King recognized how the injustices of ongoing wars are motivated by “immense profits from overseas investments,” themselves part of the “giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism” that needed to be changed with a radical revolution of values.11
In “Heroes on Both Sides,” we get a glimpse of the Separatist Parliament, which is notably filled with a majority of nonhuman species, and its motivations for resisting the Republic. Communications between Padmé and Separatist Senator Mina Bonteri open up the possibility of peace negotiations. A Separatist leader remarks how their institution is a “true democracy,” and how, unlike in the Republic, “corporations do not rule us.” These factors are added to what they see as a human supremacist institution that does not give nonhumans leadership in key military positions, along with an exploitative system that does not give adequate voice to Outer Rim planets. Yet, the overwhelming majority offers a peaceful resolution to finally end the conflict.12
The Separatists were justified in their movement for self‐determination and more dignified conditions of life. The Republic, on the other hand, did not accept these articles of secession, instead painting the Separatists as insubordinate “anarchists” counterposed to the Republic as an institution trying to bring “law and order.”13 The Separatists also saw the Jedi, in their role as peacekeepers, as carrying out missions primarily focused on the core worlds, leaving the more endangered Outer Rim worlds without attention. Even though bad actors like Count Dooku and the corporate alliance co‐opted the Separatist movement and sabotaged attempts at reconciliation, we see that in the heart of this people's effort, self‐determination and democracy were their goals.
One of the main lessons from The Clone Wars is about how the Jedi Order compromised their values by entering the conflict. The Jedi were known as paragons of virtue, justice, and compassion, but they failed to live up to their reputation as the war raged on. The people of the Republic grew angry with the Jedi for their preoccupation with an endless war that only further militarized the Republic and led to the expansion of the clone army. In the episode arc featuring the expulsion of Anakin's Padawan Ahsoka Tano from the Jedi Order and her decision not to return after her name had been cleared, we see the discontent of the people on Coruscant toward the Jedi war efforts.14
In the Clone Wars episode “Sabotage,” the end of the war is near, and the Republic's increasing militarization foreshadows its transition to the Empire. With Admiral Tarkin in command, the Republic becomes more ruthless in carrying out the war effort. Following the Jedi Temple bombing, the council assigns Ahsoka and Anakin to investigate. When they interview potential suspects, Ahsoka notices how the employees of the Jedi Temple are living. In the underbelly of Coruscant, beneath the luxurious skyscrapers, they visit the home of Jackar Bowmani, a working‐class Abyssin, who worked in the Temple as a munitions expert and was killed in the blast. Jackar lived in degrading conditions: his residence is full of debris, fading paint, toxic fumes, and mold. As they walk toward the entrance of Bowmani's home, Anakin remarks, “This is not the nicest place … .” and Ahsoka replies, “I would've thought working for the Jedi paid better.”
In the eyes of people like Jackar, the Jedi were respected figures who were supposed to make people feel safe and secure. We learn how Jackar worked tooth and nail to get the Jedi Temple job, a competitive achievement because of the prestige of working for the Order. His living conditions pose the question, if the Jedi paid their employees this way, how did the rest of the people on Coruscant itself live? Why was there so much money for bombers, tanks, and clone soldiers, while so many Republic citizens lived in squalor and catastrophic conditions? When Ahsoka talks to Letta Turmond, in “The Jedi Who Knew Too Much,” she reveals that the plot against the Jedi, which Jackar had unluckily been at the center of, was motivated by the fact that the Jedi as an institution had changed. Letta tells her, “The Jedi have become warmongers. They've become military weapons. And they are killing when they should be keeping the peace.”
In light of Chomsky's and West's work, we can see the way social elites such as the Jedi and the Republic's politicians lose touch with the people, appearing to put the needs of the many in the rear‐view mirror. If Chomsky were analyzing this situation, he'd point to the failures of the Republic and Jedi in not taking care of the people they are supposed to represent and protect. He'd warn that if people continue living under these kinds of conditions, they'll become disillusioned, feeling betrayed and rightfully angry with their leadership, which could lead to a charismatic, insidious, and authoritarian figure – like Palpatine – seizing power and destroying democracy itself.
Observing a parallel trend in the US, Chomsky would point to the increase of wealth inequality: over the past several decades, unfettered capitalism (which he attributes to neoliberal economic policies) has allowed an estimated $47 trillion to be upwardly distributed to the wealthiest Americans away from the working and middle classes.15 This pattern is tied to the stagnation of wages for the past 40 years, while the cost of living has continuously climbed. The legacies of trickle‐down economics, deregulation, corporate bailouts, and attacks on bargaining power have become central to a political system that puts the material interests of the ruling class above everyday people. Chomsky would note that Jackar's living situation is not so different from many struggling today, portraying the plight of the impoverished and disempowered.
The COVID‐19 pandemic is for us what the height of the war is to The Clone Wars: legacies of gross inequality have been laid bare for all to see. The economic repercussions of the pandemic disclose America's tiered class system: the poor, often disproportionately people of color, work the most dangerous jobs, putting themselves at high risk on the front lines.16 Dangers are compounded by a privatized health‐care system that supplies profits to insurance companies while tens of millions of Americans remain uninsured or underinsured during a pandemic. Black and Latino communities are disproportionately impacted by COVID‐19 and inadequate health care access, leading to a higher proportion of deaths.17 Moreover, there's the severe impact of structural inequality on a global scale, with poorer nations facing major vaccine shortages while wealthier Western countries have an abundance of vaccines – leading to the emergence of dangerous variants that puts the world at risk.18
There is a problem when the powerful remain indifferent to the pain of so many for so long. Chomsky identifies the fault in state capitalist systems, not the personal failings of individuals. Change must come by reimagining who's properly served by government and policy. Chomsky has advocated for public policies that uplift everyone and provide opportunities that improve the standard of living, involving a redistribution of not just wealth, but power. He affirms that economic rights are human rights, including universally accessible education, health care, adequate housing, strengthening of organized labor, and jobs that provide a living wage with purpose.19 This type of reimagined society can prevent democratic sensibilities from eroding.20 By establishing a culture that brings along everyone, people will be collectively invested in the common good and public institutions that will foster solidarity, compassion, and care. Such a culture would also mitigate the power of authoritarian, reactionary, and demagogic movements that thrive on a mantra of division. President Donald Trump was able to use the conditions caused by 40 years of class war waged on working people to successfully gain power and galvanize his base with divide‐and‐conquer style politics. With his scapegoating of immigrants, Muslims, BLM protestors, and the “Other” as being responsible for their struggles, many saw Trump as a solution to their disillusionment with US democracy and the political process. While in power, he was most successful doing the bidding of the ultra‐wealthy, consigning millions of American workers to more inequality and further calcifying the power of corporate tyrannies.21
Despite these serious challenges, there's been an uprising of social movements, notably the resurgence of BLM protests in the summer of 2020. Estimated to be the largest social mobilization in US history, the protests addressed the brutality of the US criminal justice system, from disproportionately high numbers of police killings of unarmed Black men, women, and children, to mass incarceration and the criminalization of behavior in poor communities and communities of color. Protests also called for getting to the root of the conditions that cause crime, such as a severe lack of economic opportunities and the racial wealth gap. Instead of treating crime with punitive measures and militarized policing, we are called to reinvest resources in areas that would substantially improve people's lives. The protest movement transcended borders, sparking the global outrage of multi‐racial coalitions who mobilized to take a stand against racial injustice and demanded an immediate reckoning with institutions embedded in white supremacy.
In the Clone Wars episode “Sabotage,” we also witness social movements critical of injustices and focused on ending the war. Protestors mobilize directly outside the Jedi Temple, chanting “No more clones! Stop the violence! End the war!” as Republic gunships and clone troopers with riot gear surround them. The violence had been brought home to Coruscant by an attack, and Republic citizens were frightened and outraged at the Jedi's role in the war. This concern is acknowledged by Mace Windu when he, Yoda, Ahsoka, and Anakin discuss the potential motives of the suspect responsible for the Temple bombing: Jackar Bowmani's wife, Letta Turmond. Windu says, “I think we can guess her motives easily enough. Public opinion is swaying against the Jedi, that is becoming clear. This war is becoming less and less popular every day it persists.” In the episode “Sacrifice,” Yoda also reflects on the futility and injustice resulting from the Jedi entering the war. When Mace Windu asks for his insights on how the Jedi can win the conflict, Yoda replies: “no longer certain that one ever does win a war, I am. For in fighting the battles, the bloodshed, already lost we have.”
When I imagine an alternative path that could've saved the galaxy from falling into the evils of imperialism, I imagine a Jedi Order that confronted the Senate for its corruption and mockery of the democratic process. I think of a Jedi Order that became invested in the needs of the people, helping them resolve conflicts diplomatically and using resources to protect them from the social violence of poverty and despair when their elected representatives failed to do so.22 I think of the conditions on Separatist‐aligned planets and how they felt that the Republic did not uphold their interests. In our world, the BLM movement is doing what the Jedi should've done, raising class consciousness through direct action aimed at a revitalization of democracy.
Ahsoka's experiences building relationships with everyday people, like Trace and Rafa Martez, open her eyes to how far the Jedi and the Republic have fallen from what they are supposed to be. She says, “In my life, when you find people who need your help, you help them, no matter what.” She also proclaims, “It's every citizen's duty to challenge their leaders, to keep them honest, and hold them accountable if they are not.” These are the values and principles that made her the person she is, a person who walked away from the Jedi Order. They should also be the governing philosophies of our political and social institutions. It's what being the guardians of peace and justice requires.