So I've been thinking about @amiya-shirou and @raisengen's posts on Iberia and Yan respectively; the idea that to truly criticize these structures it needs to be addressing them at their strongest. And like, yeah, it makes sense, criticizing a strawman is easy, actually pointing out that even in the best case scenario Your Idea Sucks is a much more compelling point.
But it's an interesting topic to approach outside of SPECIFICALLY Iberia and Yan, because the Inquisition has the iron-clad christofacist stranglehold on Iberia, while the True Lung is revered and respected by everyone in Yan (he and the Grand Commandant aren't ever actually portrayed as in opposition; the Commandant only ever wants to please him and strengthen Yan while the True Lung views him as a loyal servant despite how he acts.)
But the consistent criticism outside of Iberia's rigid theocracy is that... the rulers of Terra are surprisingly powerless. Jackson is completely subservient to the eternal surveillance state and wishes he was just back on the farm. Fyodor is unable to control the armies or even punish the nobles responsible for Chernobog. Alistair is executed by the dukes. Theresa is undermined by Theresis and her earnest desires ignored by those who venerate her. Yvangelista can't get anyone to attend the summit of nations and his subordinates move to execute Sarkaz every opportunity they get. Even the True Lung is unable to stop Wei Yenwu or the Grand Commandant from executing their own plans.
The overall vibe kinda seems to be that AK thinks the Great Man Theory is bullshit - very explicit with the ending of TA and Vina's entire character arc. Like, in the end it doesn't MATTER if the best person possible is in charge - the systems are set up to stop them from making things better. In the end, when the worst outcome IS avoided; when the last miners are saved, when the massacre at the monastery is averted, when Yumen is turned back, it's because these rulers were just one of a number of people who chose to believe in a better future. But all they end up doing is choosing to NOT commit more violence, while the individuals on the ground are actively getting in the way OF the current violence.
This isn't an immensely pointed line of thought, I suppose. Just interesting that in Arknights, the only goals a ruler can achieve with their position, no matter how noble the ruler, is inflicting violence, and that the greatest president of the USA AK's authors can imagine is a sad, elderly man, wishing he was back on the farm watching the nomadic cities roll by.
