The UEG/UNSC of Halo and the Systems Alliance of Mass Effect. Which government would you prefer to live under as a civilian and as military personnel, enlisted and officer?
Both governments have their pros and cons, taking into account their military’s, economies, history, etc.
Who do you think provides a better quality of life? Who do you think provides better protection and security to their homeworld and colonies? Who has the better economy?
Who do you think has greater advantages? Who do you think has the greater disadvantages? Are they capable of being overlooked? Do the pros outweigh the cons?
Who can progress technologically to provide all of these things and overcome any disadvantages they have?
Which government/military is more competent?
I’ve seen numerous forums and posts of who would beat who between these two factions, and of course we know that the UNSC tends to take most of those votes, however, I’m more curious as to who people would prefer to live under?
I think it almost definitely would be the Mass Effect/Alliance style system. The UEG barely had a handle on things BEFORE the Covenant. Even after the Reapers, I think humanity was in a better position when you consider how many civilians died in the Covenant war.
As a regular joe, the Mass Effect universe seems more appealing.
The UEG are a corrupt military focused oligarchy secretly controlled by ONI with a facade of democracy that use WMDs against anyone who points out the glaring issues in their society (RIP Ben Giraud). They also kidnapped and experimented on children to train into super-soldiers designed specifically to kill armed civilians in the outer colonies. Multiple times.
The systems alliance had a miscommunication in first contact which started a brief war. Only a few decades later they were teaming up with the same aliens they had fought with to make an invisible space ship for the specific purpose of aiding the massive pre-existing alien society. Their biggest failures is an inability to control the dangerous corporations which exist under their government, and being steeped in bureaucracy so that whenever they discover something they are constantly undermined by third parties.
Assuming I don’t need to worry about the cycle of oblivion that occurs in the Mass Effect universe, I would absolutely rather live under the System Alliance. They are almost utopian compared to the UEG!