Government run only by members of Abnegation?

Discuss the June 2014 book of the month Divergent by Veronica Roth. While only Divergent--the first book of the series--is the book of the month, feel free to use this subforum to discuss the rest of the series or to talk about the movies, but make sure not to post spoilers unless noted in the topic title.
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Apogea
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Re: Government run only by members of Abnegation?

Post by Apogea »

I believe it is an awful idea, each faction should have say in what goes on, with maybe the Abnegation doing more of the voting.
It may work for a while, but what happens when disaster occurs due to lack of knowledge for preventing it?
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Post by allesha »

I don't think it is a good idea for the Abnegation to be the sole faction involved in the government. This is just asking for the other factions to try to overthrow the Abnegation. There definitely needs to be a balance in the government, with other factions in power too.
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Post by toshilou »

Actually, it'd probably be a good idea to have the government run by the people that are known to be the most selfless and humble. Then you know that they actually plan to help the people.

There IS power with knowledge, but I don't think a hunger for knowledge can make someone power hungry. It just depends on how you use that knowledge

-- 16 Jul 2014, 23:29 --

But, going back to the topic of abnegation, it could end up more successful if they had something sort of like their version of the United Nations with the factions...
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Post by sflaherty42 »

A government needs balance in order to work. Being selfless is a good virtue, but it takes a lot more than that to run a government. You need fearlessness and intelligence and bravery.
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Post by Books_are_Life »

To make a good government it needs to be ran by people how are equally everything but that will never happen. Having just one group of people running the government is a horrible idea. It will cause that group to become corrupt and other groups will become if not already be jealous. I do not see a win win anywhere when it comes to having a selfless focus group in charge because they probably will not be likely to listen to the other groups because they are probably selfish.
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Post by Adurna101 »

I definitely agree with that statement. Because, if you think about it, those that are knowledge hungry, are always going to be seeking more knowledge, and in doing so, will become so absorbed, that they will believe that everyone else is beneath them, therefore, anyone in power, shouldn't be in power. So, the way that the factions are set up, I think that there should be a council. A chairman/chairwoman from Abnegation+two others from Abnegation, and then 2 from the remaining four factions.
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Post by 2Friendly »

I think that in the society they were living in...it made the most sense. Abnegation are the least likely to hoard resources or pass a law for their benefit.
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Post by NanoWasabi »

It might not have been a good idea overall, but I can understand why they did it. When they first came up with the factions, there was so much of a desire for a peaceful world that they made a rash decision, that ultimately didn't work. Maybe the government should have been it's own faction, practicing all of the virtues in moderation, like the Divergent faction or something.
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Post by littlebook »

I don't think this is a very good idea. Abnegation are "too" polite. They would harbor to worldly affairs that we don't need to be evolved in.
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Post by MatthewAlexander »

Tris's government is run only by members of Abnegation because the whole point of Abnegation is that they are not selfish, but instead have the well being of everyone on their minds. I think it's a good idea in theory, as putting other factions completely in charge of the government would result in everything being run in that faction's interest. For example, as Tris's father implied, putting Erudite members completely in charge of the government could lead to terrible things. Consider what happened even when they weren't completely in control. I do think, however, that there should be a representative of each of the other factions in government while being overseen by Abnegation members to make sure that everyone's best interest is kept in mind.
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Post by cyndiha11 »

The government is run only by Abnegation because the factions have been formed to take on certain responsibilities, and government is one of these duties for Abnegation. Of course, in real life, this is a horrible idea. We need political opinions from all interested parties, not just one whose inclination is toward selflessness - imagine, what might that look like in today's culture?

I don't know if valuing knowledge over all else results in a lust for power, however knowledge equals power, therefore…
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Post by bronwynrb »

The point of the abnegation running the goverment is that they won't do selfish things for thmselves or be bought out. Although does it work all the time?
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Post by Adurna101 »

Really good idea, because their faction is perfect for it. In reality though, there should be a council where leaders of each faction are there, to help influence the decisions for the better. Otherwise, it corruption is going to happen, and BOOM, the book Divergent occurs.
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Post by hollirm »

I completely agree with her dad's statement, and I don't think that the government should have been run by only members of Abnegation. The reason I don't agree with it is first of all because of what her dad said sums up exactly what happened. And second of all, because, a government should not incorporate only one group of all like-minded people. It should have had members from all factions apart of the government so that all points of views are integrated within the government and no one group/faction becomes big headed.
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Post by lindac1_98 »

I feel a government should have equal representation of all factions. One group should never govern over several different types of people, even if they are selfless. What is good for one group will not be as good for a different group with a different mind set.
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