A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the whole Star Wars universe historically existed, don't argue with me. A story of good verse evil, its quite easy to categorize the multiple sides into either side. The Republic, random civilizations under the "oppressive rule of the Empire" and Jedi are all painted to be the good guys while Crime Syndicates, the Trade Federation and the Sith are clearly painted out to be the bad guys. On the surface makes sense, right? Who in their right mind would want little teddy bears to be slaughtered by fully armed Stormtroopers that resemble the SS? While clearly portrayed this way, I would argue that this story actually has no "good side" and pretty much every organization is out to better themselves at the cost of others.
One of the first major problems with the entire galactic composition of "order" is that the Jedi have assumed the post as "protectors of the Republic". Apparently they have been doing this since the formation of the Republic (from the rise of the old Sith Civil war). Over 10,000 years, they have grown in size and defended the Republic from internal conflicts. What doesn't make much sense, is that for any one organization to protect the lives of an entire galaxy, the have to be rather big. The Jedi are not, as they don't have Inquisitors or Acolytes like the Sith organization has. The byproduct of this is a woefully inept system of protection that leaves most every living being within the galaxy to defend to themselves. Crime Syndicates like the Pikes or Hutts have taken over systems at a time, establishing it as their own and breeding grounds for illegal activates under republic rule such as spice manufacturing or slavery. Even on Republic systems like Coursant, crime in the lower levels is as rampant as dilapidation of a fallen tree in a moist rain forest. Jedi might serve as the face of protection for most of the Republic, but those protections are only offered to those deemed "important" enough to get it. As an almost affront to democracy, which this Republic is built on, the Jedi are also not elected officials. This is perplexing as it creates almost a separate organization that literally controls safety within the government area of operation that people can not vote on. While also being dysfunctional, it sounds completely irrational that the first Galactic Civil War in 1,000 years happens to be the one spearheaded by the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
This does not make them evil by any means, just woefully inept at doing their primary duty within the system of governance that is the republic. Almost as a complete aside from their duty to the republic, they have a greater duty to promote the learning and growth of their order. On the surface, most see the Jedi as self actualized individuals that are selfless by design and genuinely care about the greater good first and foremost. This is completely incorrect. The Jedi are a religious cult that take young children from their parents (not even giving them an option) and train them that emotions and desires are wrong. The heart of the moral of selflessness is a love for others greater than yourself. How on Coruscant is anyone supposed to be selfless without understanding or embracing emotions such as love and empathy.
On the flipside of George Lucas' irreproachable galactic saviors are the Sith. Depicted to be ruthless and pure evil, the Sith operate in a world where they are the only important thing and everything and everyone else can and should be used in exploitations to advance their own wants and desires. While this can and does lead to very destructive outcomes throughout the series, the Sith rely on themselves and their own passions to gain as much as they can. This inevitably creates a system where self growth directly coordinates to success. A better understanding of the world around them leads to an understanding of love and passions that help create a fully understanding of the ways of the force.
Similarly, with the formation of the Empire from the ruins of the Republic, you see a system that uses sectors in order to maintain control. Much like the United State, the Empire had a large galaxy wide government that oversaw basic economy and social pillars of society, while regional government taking a much bigger role in day to day life and operation. Despite what can be painted in the movies, the daily life of most citizens in the empire actually improved sustainably (unless you were a Wookie). Gone are the crime syndicates or the Outtrim's general lawlessness. As Mayfield says in the Mandalorian Season Two, "Yeah, Empire, New Republic. It's all the same to these people. Invaders on their land is all we are" and subsequently, " I'm just saying, somewhere someone in this galaxy is ruling and others are being ruled. I mean, look at your race. Do you think all those people that died in wars fought by Mandalorians actually had a choice? So how are they any different than the Empire? If you were born on Mandalore, you believe one thing, if you were born on Alderaan, you believe something else. But guess what? Neither one of them exist anymore." Both of these quotes paint a very clear picture that both the Empire and the Republic are ineffective at caring for the needs of the people. The only thing that the Empire does better is providing a clearer system of government that actually protects the people from outside organization that terrorize them (the Empire just terrorized them themselves).
At the end of the day, the Jedi are self obsessed, manipulative cultist that has a primary aim is to stay in their comfy position of power as long as they possibly can. Their complacency ended up being their downfall. While the Sith and Empire aren't much better in most regards, the proclamation that the Jedi are the good guys might be one of the most inaccurate takes in history. Much like life, there is no real protagonist or antagonist other than the way George Lucas has painted them. There are just different people, trying to make their way in the universe as best they can
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