Sol Economic Organization
The Sol Economic Organization is the smallest of the four major parties, having lost much of its base to the Galactic Autonomy Party. Their support of the Shadow Coalition-backed government coalition keeps what remains in power. The SEO is no longer backed by every major Trans-Stellar Corporation, with most having shifted to the more corporatist GAP, though some of the less dominant corporations such as Einstein Engines and Zeng-Hu continue to support the SEO for its pro-competition policies. In order to survive the party's split, it has adopted increasingly anti-corporatist stances and has focused on their appeal to those businesses which remain independent of the major TSCs. They continue to support the development of new transformative technologies, though are critical of the predatory patents by the likes of Kaleidoscope Cosmetics and Ward-Takahashi General Manufacturing. The party remains in support of a strong central SCG military, placing it in direct opposition to the GAP's localized, often heavily corporate-influenced defense forces.
Contents
History
The SEO formed in the wake of the SolGov-Hegemony war, and the unpopular peace settlement that rattled many warhawks outraged by Moghes' blatant imperialism. These warhawks found funding, allies, and support in the major TSCs, who saw a chance to involve themselves in politics to an unprecedented extent. The Sol Economic Organization was thus formed, with an outpouring of billions of thalers of support from corporate entities.
The SEO's greatest stratagem to date was claiming the Free Trade Union and Multinational Movement from the Shadow Coalition. This lent the consortium legitimacy and power enough to make it a serious contender for the Assembly majority. When Icarus lost the majority, the SEO joined with the Shadow Coalition as a kingmaker, and that involved a significant furthering of their aims, a massive return on investment.
Almach War and the Skathari Incursion
The secession of the Almach Association split the SEO in two. The 'mainliners' viewed an independent Almach Rim, with its left-wing economic sensibilities, as a potentially destabilizing and radicalizing influence on Solar capitalism. The 'iconoclasts' believed that an invasion would be unjustified, costly, and ultimately strengthen the anti-corporate Icarus Front, and that international cooperation with the Association could be beneficial to Solar corporations. These 'iconoclasts', while marginalized at the time, turned out to be very prescient indeed, with major TSCs making extremely lucrative investments in Almachi technology and industry after the end of the war.
This rift in the SEO did not heal with the Skathari Incursion, but instead only broadened. In 2571, it culminated with a rupture, with the 'iconoclasts' banding together with local and multinational interests to form the GAP, taking many of the SEO's wealthiest investors with them. This led to an increased focus on the party's pro-military stance, efforts to 'legitimize' and de-coporatize its structure, and a shift towards anti-trust policy in an effort to counteract the influence of many TSCs towards independent states where they would hold even greater sway.
Modern Times
Who Supports Them?
- People from humanity's rimworlds who oppose corporate hegemony.
- Moderate futurists.
- Non-TSC business owners and employees, particularly beneficiaries of the SCG trade alliance.
- People who support a strong SCG military.
- People on the Human-Tajaran border
Party Structure
Much of the SEO's original corporate structure has been streamlined away by reforms or literally sold to the GAP. It now operates much like a traditional coalition, like its rivals in the Icarus Front and Shadow Coalition, though 'high-value donors' are still given voting seats on the Board concomitant with their contributions. The Board appoints a Chairperson from within its own numbers, usually a corporate executive and not a politician, though many within the SEO call for a more democratic internal structure. The SEO's key investors are split between smaller, newer, and more competitive TSCs like Hedberg-Hammarstrom, larger TSCs like Hephaestus Industries that still benefit from ties to the SCG military, and the Free Trade Union.
The positronic voter farms and vast propaganda aparati of the SEO's old corporate donors now belong largely to the GAP, forcing the party to campaign through more traditional, 'legitimate' routes, though they are still extremely wealthy and maintain a great deal of pull with employees of their sponsors.
