Solarian Corporate Authority Expansion

[Ublicto]

Lore Impact (Small/Medium/Large): Small

Species: Human

Short Description:

A short article about the Solarian Corporate Authority, which seems to me one of the most important but least written about government offices of the Alliance. This would probably be best placed in the "Sol Alliance" wiki page close to where the government departments are.

How will this be reflected on-station?:

It may be reflected in some character gimmicks or antagonist gimmicks. Some off station antagonists might claim to be SCA inspectors, for example. A Solarian consular officer could be an SCA representative to the SCC. For the vast majority of players in the vast majority of rounds it will not make any difference. It is almost entirely background lore.

Does this addition do anything not achieved by what already exists?: Yes, it goes into detail on the powers and actions of the SCA as well as why it could exist in an environment where political concerns are often dictated by giant mega corporations.

Do you understand that the project may change over time in ways you may not foresee once it is handed over to the Lore Team?:

Yes. Whatever changes are made the SCA will have more lore attached to it.

Long Description:

Solarian Corporate Authority

 

The Solarian Corporate Authority was founded by an act of parliament in 2463 and is largely the brainchild of Senator Hendrik Strom. Despite facing opposition from many pro-corporate senators it was able to pass with the support of large sections of the navy and population in the jewel worlds. The SCA is not a department of the Alliance because that would expose it to oversight by politicians backed by the large corporations it is supposed to compete with and in large part oversee. Instead it is answerable to the empty Prime Minister’s office, which means by default the organization is controlled by its creator Hendrik Strom who as long as he maintains his influence in parliament can designate whoever he wants as the Authority’s chairman, including himself at times.

The powers given to the SCA and its chairman are wide ranging. The SCA has unilateral power over nationalization and oversight of megacorporation management. In practice the SCA directly controls 10% of the Alliance’s economy through nationalized industry. In reality its influence has a much greater reach considering its close supervision of all credit issuing institutions in Alliance space, especially Idris Bank. Whenever a firm defies, undermines, or simply gets in the way of the ASSN’s interests or the goals of Senator Strom it can be denied credit and forced into bankruptcy or worse.

In what may seem to be a paradoxical relationship the Authority enjoys the support of Hephaestus Industries and Einstein Engines, both of whom deal with the most complex industries subject to the most disruption in the stop-start pattern the Alliance’s economy tended to follow. Nationalized industry, as long as it isn’t competing with them, provides important stability in markets that Hephaestus and Einstein Engines rely on. It also provides friendly megacorporations a limited amount of independence from large banks like Idris which through their control of credit and frequent corruption of government ministries could restrain the growth of industry to keep prices high and costs low. In large part the cooperation of these corporations with the SCA is why the necessary expenses of consumers and industries across Alliance space has begun to slightly but noticeably drop and benefit the economy as well as expand Senator Strom’s popularity and personal power. 

[Triogenix]

 

 

I have a few thoughts, though bear in mind I'm not a human lore dev and don't speak for them.

On 31/07/2023 at 19:46, Ublicto said:

Despite facing opposition from many pro-corporate senators it was able to pass with the support of large sections of the navy and population in the jewel worlds.

From my understanding, by the time the Industrial Reclamation Act was passed, the Solarian Senate wasn't in control anymore, instead the act was passed by a provisional military council, one that was rabidly anti-biesellite and anti-corporate. So there wouldn't have been much opposition, since such senators probably wouldn't be sitting on the council(IIRC, the only two civilians were Trang and Strom).

On 31/07/2023 at 19:46, Ublicto said:

The SCA is not a department of the Alliance because that would expose it to oversight by politicians backed by the large corporations it is supposed to compete with and in large part oversee. Instead it is answerable to the empty Prime Minister’s office, which means by default the organization is controlled by its creator Hendrik Strom who as long as he maintains his influence in parliament can designate whoever he wants as the Authority’s chairman, including himself at times.

I dislike this, a big part of the Alliance is its bloated bureaucracy and undertones of corruption that are finally beginning to be rooted out. I'd much rather that it be answerable to Solarian Politicians(at least now, maybe only to the prov. government at first), so that part of the alliance remains. Also, cause, in theory it might heavily favor EE, which is stepping in to consolidate its presence within the Alliance after most of the rest of the corps got kicked out.

On 31/07/2023 at 19:46, Ublicto said:

The powers given to the SCA and its chairman are wide ranging. The SCA has unilateral power over nationalization and oversight of megacorporation management. In practice the SCA directly controls 10% of the Alliance’s economy through nationalized industry. In reality its influence has a much greater reach considering its close supervision of all credit issuing institutions in Alliance space, especially Idris Bank. Whenever a firm defies, undermines, or simply gets in the way of the ASSN’s interests or the goals of Senator Strom it can be denied credit and forced into bankruptcy or worse.

I also don't really like this, since it feels like too much of a "there is no going against the will of this organization." Having a super influential anti-corporate entity goes against one of the foundations of the setting, and that is the influence of the megacorporations. Instead, I think I'd rather the SCA's powers and oversight be limited to what was in the original act + some changes after Hephaestus's negotiation. They can be found here:

 

On 31/07/2023 at 19:46, Ublicto said:

enjoys the support of Hephaestus Industries and Einstein Engines

considering Hephaestus openly said "Fuck you, we aren't obeying this as is" and brought the Alliance to the negotiating table in regards to NHP, I don't see them really supporting the SCA.

On 31/07/2023 at 19:46, Ublicto said:

Nationalized industry, as long as it isn’t competing with them, provides important stability in markets that Hephaestus and Einstein Engines rely on. It also provides friendly megacorporations a limited amount of independence from large banks like Idris which through their control of credit and frequent corruption of government ministries could restrain the growth of industry to keep prices high and costs low. In large part the cooperation of these corporations with the SCA is why the necessary expenses of consumers and industries across Alliance space has begun to slightly but noticeably drop and benefit the economy as well as expand Senator Strom’s popularity and personal power. 

I'd personally like to see some more stuff about corruption in this section, such as members of the SCA taking a bit off the top, giving out control to their friends, and the like. In addition, I think it'd be worth it to dive into what exactly happened with the nationalized assets. Even if the SCA controls 10% of the alliance economy, that still leaves a massive amount of room for things like auctioning off assets, transferring control to smaller, local Solarian Corporations, etc. Personally it's an angle I've been wanting to see for a long time, and this feels like it could be the place for it.

[Ublicto]

14 hours ago, Triogenix said:

 

 

I have a few thoughts, though bear in mind I'm not a human lore dev and don't speak for them.

From my understanding, by the time the Industrial Reclamation Act was passed, the Solarian Senate wasn't in control anymore, instead the act was passed by a provisional military council, one that was rabidly anti-biesellite and anti-corporate. So there wouldn't have been much opposition, since such senators probably wouldn't be sitting on the council(IIRC, the only two civilians were Trang and Strom).

I dislike this, a big part of the Alliance is its bloated bureaucracy and undertones of corruption that are finally beginning to be rooted out. I'd much rather that it be answerable to Solarian Politicians(at least now, maybe only to the prov. government at first), so that part of the alliance remains. Also, cause, in theory it might heavily favor EE, which is stepping in to consolidate its presence within the Alliance after most of the rest of the corps got kicked out.

I also don't really like this, since it feels like too much of a "there is no going against the will of this organization." Having a super influential anti-corporate entity goes against one of the foundations of the setting, and that is the influence of the megacorporations. Instead, I think I'd rather the SCA's powers and oversight be limited to what was in the original act + some changes after Hephaestus's negotiation. They can be found here:

 

considering Hephaestus openly said "Fuck you, we aren't obeying this as is" and brought the Alliance to the negotiating table in regards to NHP, I don't see them really supporting the SCA.

I'd personally like to see some more stuff about corruption in this section, such as members of the SCA taking a bit off the top, giving out control to their friends, and the like. In addition, I think it'd be worth it to dive into what exactly happened with the nationalized assets. Even if the SCA controls 10% of the alliance economy, that still leaves a massive amount of room for things like auctioning off assets, transferring control to smaller, local Solarian Corporations, etc. Personally it's an angle I've been wanting to see for a long time, and this feels like it could be the place for it.

Thank you for your reply.

If it was rabidly anti-Bieselite and anti-corporate, why would the SCA not be a powerful organization? If we want it to be answerable to different politicians each with their own power base, would it make sense to split the SCA between different offices? For example, there could be a Hephaestus influenced office, a central office in Sol, another office controlled by the military that runs the nationalized war industry, etc. In my writing I aimed to blur the line between the state and mega corporations. If NHP, the Eridani Corporate Federation, and so on are to remain like special economic zones where they can do whatever they want I think that's good and adds to the complex byzantine bureaucratic idea you want to see but at the same time it brings into question how effective the SCA is and if it would be a competitor to these corporate fiefs rather than a regulator of them.

The SCA is already charged with managing an immense part of the economy. Better than simple normal corruption I think having patronage networks play a large part is both more interesting and gives more room to potentially add more later. For example, if a politician wants to build his power base and keep himself in power he can influence the SCA to spend more money on his planet and use it to boost the elites or constituencies that support him. Mega corporations can also do this and use the SCA to boost themselves, but that creates dependency on the state and undermines their independence from central authority.

 

I like many of your suggestions, but now I am more unsure about what the SCA is supposed to be. Is it a supervisory group that also owns stuff, or is it more like a publicly owned mega-corporation on its own? Personally I think if we want the SCA to be pulled in different directions and be less of tool of the state, the publicly owned mega-corporation idea is more interesting.

[Ublicto]

Revised version of SCA article:

 

The Solarian Corporate Authority was founded by an act of parliament in 2463 and is largely the brainchild of Senator Hendrik Strom. Despite facing opposition from many pro-corporate interests it was implemented  by the provisional military council with the support of large sections of the navy and population in the jewel worlds. The SCA is the newest government ministry of the Alliance and also one of the most politically controversial considering the scope, complexity, and importance of its work.

The powers given to the SCA are wide ranging. The SCA has unilateral power over nationalization of assets of business or individuals based in the Republic Of Biesel, and used that power to great effect in the anti-Biesel nationalization campaign following its formation. In practice the SCA directly controls 10% of the Alliance’s economy through nationalized industry. In reality its influence has a much greater reach considering its close supervision of all credit issuing institutions in Alliance space, especially Idris Bank which is seen as politically unreliable. The strong powers of the SCA as the vanguard of the ASSN's interests in its own economy are weakened by divisions in the Alliance. Regional politicians compete over influence in local SCA offices, and mega corporations such as Einstein Engines and Hephaestus Industries are able to affect the operation of the SCA through those politicians. The SCA despite having a more simplified bureaucratic structure and less corrupt personnel than many parts of the Alliance government is plagued by coordination issues that stem from this and other issues. Local offices seldom are in complete sync with the primary office on Unity Station, and the farther from Sol one goes the more independent SCA offices tend to act.

In what may seem to be a paradoxical relationship the Authority enjoys the support of Einstein Engines and some other large mega corporations who are usually involved with the most complex industries subject to the most disruption in the stop-start pattern the Alliance’s economy tended to follow. Nationalized industry, as long as it isn’t competing with them, provides important stability in markets that Hephaestus and Einstein Engines rely on. It also provides friendly mega corporations a limited amount of independence from large banks like Idris which through their control of credit and frequent corruption of government ministries could restrain the growth of industry to keep prices high and costs low. The economic stability provided by a large employer and producer like the SCA which does not act in accordance with short term profit goals has been a boon to the Alliance, and some of the corporations that would normally oppose this government ministry. Einstein Engines in particular has benefited enormously from the SCA. It's reputation as a firm which is aligned with the interests of the ASSN's government has allowed it to easily and legally influence the SCA to take actions favorable to it, and unfavorable to its competitors. In particular the SCA agreed to supply Einstein Engines with lower cost  components needed to build faster than light engines if Einstein Engines agreed to buy them in bulk. This was a direct attack on Hephaestus Industries, one of Einstein's largest competitors and a corporation which has made its hostility to Alliance political goals known. Despite that, Hephaestus Industries has continued to resist the influence of the SCA and used its political power to severely undermine the office on New Hai Phong and other systems where it holds a virtual monopoly on political and economic power. If the bureaucratic weight of the Solarian Corporate Authority can overcome the political weight of its enemies and the typical issues of any Alliance government ministry is something that only time can tell.

[The7thLain]

Hi and thank you for this submission. We are going to tentatively accept bits and pieces of this and include them in the Solarian Government ministries page. The SCA already has some information on it there and we will likely take some points from this submission and use them to better explain the entity on that page soon.