I’ve been thinking a bit about alignment lately, as can be seen by this thread:
http://www.autarch.co/forums/general-discussion/what-would-be-alignments-got-characters
Where that thread is focused on the alignments of specific characters in Game of Thrones, here I want to ask what might be a typical spread in a human society between Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic.
I believe that it would be very hard for a society to function if the split between the 3 alignments were fairly equal. Instead it seems that one faction would need to dominate in some way, or at least dominate the beliefs of the movers and shakers of a society. I also believe that the vast majority of people in general are usually (apatheticly) Neutral. With the limited public knowledge we have about the Auran Empire I think it’s possible that the overall breakdown of alignment might be as follows:
Lawful - 15%
Neutal - 80%
Chaotic - 5%
The Auran Empire overall seems to be a force for Law. Not necessarily a nation of crusading zealots looking to smite evil wherever it may be found, but a state that does promote civilization and order in general. The apathetic nature of most people’s Neutrality (most folks just being farmers with a live and let live outlook, whose biggest hopes are for a good harvest) means it’s the actors with power at the poles of Law and Chaos that pull a society to one end or the other.
If the Auran Empire is conquered by outsiders, the conquerors do not have to worry about an inherent risk of widespread rebellion due to alignment issues, since most people are Neutral. This doesn’t preclude the conquerors from sparking a rebellion by being overly oppressive.
Does this jive with how others see alignment working in human societies?