Clay Zdobylak
asked
Ada Palmer:
Do you feel that panarchism is the most enlightenmentish socio-political ideology of the enlightenment? Like, a fuller development of enlightenment ideals? And should i assume you think highly of panarchist theory, or is it just a useful plot device for the Terra Ignota series?
Ada Palmer
I do think it's great, but I don't think it directly ties to Enlightenment ideas, which hadn't really gotten there yet, being still nestled in the age of empires nationalism of the 18th c. I think it connects more to 19th century ideas about civic participation as a form of actualizing human nature (they base it on Aristotle and Machiavelli) which I see as being what launches the panarchist notion that *participation* is an important humanizing step. In fact I had never run across panarchism as a term when I developed the Terra Ignota system -- it is indeed similar, but for me it was just the logical outcome of extrapolating forward from the system the EU is already trying. (The EU = also very 19th century in its ideals of ever-increasing union & evolution)
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