[JumpCrisscross]

> That quote from Banks only tells us that The Culture is his personal utopia

Idk, post-scarcity immortal FTL-wielding techno-democracy with benevolent artificial superintelligence doesn’t strike me as some hell.

And the Culture isn’t a galactic monolith. If you want a more traditional existence, there are other societies you can fuck off to.

[drak0n1c]

The Culture intervenes in and steers those other societies and species even when unprovoked. Essentially a neoconservative utopia as envisioned by a young Irving Kristol. Yes, it would be a heaven for all who are pleased to take on its espirit de corps and live in it, casual and decadently low-pressure such might be, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is a healthy influence in the long run on a universe that it is arrogantly homogenizing. There is such a thing as unintended consequences, and The Culture is not yet one of the more advanced, wiser "Sublimed" civilizations.

[UltraSane]

The Culture is absolutely not "neoconservative". I don't think modern political terms can meaningfully apply to a post-scarcity civilization with benevolent AI Gods.

[JumpCrisscross]

> and The Culture is not yet one of the more advanced, wiser "Sublimed" civilizations

I got no indication that Sublimation was a marker of advancement. More just a different state.

[scotty79]

We do what we must because we can.