The Political Lessons of ‘Star Wars’

With Brexit, and with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and dozens of other populist demagogues, it feels like we are in the closing scenes of “The Empire Strikes Back.”

If the political landscape seems discouraging, it is time to watch “Star Wars” again. It is all there. A republic torn between factions that are not able to make the government work—does it remind you of any country? A trade federation with a rebellion of star systems that are fed up with bureaucracy and lack of security—does it remind you of any continent? A galaxy that is progressively manipulated by a charismatic leader who uses discrepancies to gather power over an empire—does it remind you of anyone? Before Brexit, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and dozens of other populist demagogues, it feels like being in the closing scenes of “The Empire Strikes Back.” The “Death Star” is gradually being reconstructed and, once again, the risk of tyranny haunts us, threatening to return, with society’s applause, into the arms of a charismatic leader. Whoever watches the movies closely is able to notice the reluctance that both sides of the Force—that’s right, with a capital letter—cause in the characters and in the audience. Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader are the way to restore the authoritarian order in the midst of the rebellious chaos. “Part of the tension of the movies comes from the unmistakable appeal of a strong leader who can unite the people and rescue them from chaos,” Cass Sunstein, a legal scholar and professor at Harvard Law School, writes in his newly released book, “The World According to Star Wars.” “Powerful leaders of all types insist that is what they are doing; Vladimir Putin is an example of it, and in 2015 and 2016, the surprising candidacy of Donald Trump for the presidency reflects something similar,” Sunstein writes.

Sunstein is a celebrated name in American intelligentsia, so much so that the release of his new book was the subject of an article in the “Fashion & Style” section of The New York Times, and a list of celebrities attended—from investor George Soros to former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. In President Obama’s first term, Sunstein held a position of trust in the White House, where he formed with his wife, Samantha Powers—current U.S. ambassador to the United Nations—a kind of “Hart to Hart” couple in the development of government proposals. In an earlier book written with scholar Richard Thaler, the bestseller “Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness,” Sunstein argues that the state should adopt public policies that establish architectural decisions to favor the collective well-being without limiting freedom of choice. An example would be to impose a reduction in the size of soda cups to combat obesity epidemic; there is no restriction to someone’s freedom to drink more soda if that’s what they want, but experience shows that sugar intake decreases, hence benefiting the public health system.

In his new book, Sunstein infers there are political and personal lessons to be extracted from the “Star Wars” movies. He organized the text into 10 “episodes,” divided into three themes: 1) why the movies are so successful; 2) their multiple meanings and interpretations; and 3) three recurring topics: parenthood, redemption, and freedom. Reading the book is like taking a random stroll. It pleases everyone, from fanatic fans to curious people trying to understand why the movies fascinate so many people. The analysis of the conflict and reconciliation of Anakin and Luke Skywalker, the story about fatherhood and the rediscovery of “Star Wars” with his son captivate anyone who, like me, has a six-year-old son. But it is in the political and legal interpretation that Sunstein makes his most original contribution. The central theme of the movies, he says, is freedom of choice. Even those who follow the dark side of the Force, such as Anakin being turned into Darth Vader, do so by choice. “Luke is faced with the same issues and practically the same scenes that Anakin is faced with,” he writes. “Anakin says yes and Luke says no.”

“Destiny, prophecies, and mythology are only background noise,” says Sunstein. What matters most are the decisions made by the characters when they are at the crossroads. Choosing one way or the other may be important to everyone. George Lucas’s art is to portray to perfection how politics result from these individual choices. “Whatever may be your political convictions, and wherever you live, it is likely to see an Emperor of some sort and have sympathy for the rebels of the Resistance,” says Sunstein. “Your teacher or boss may seem like an Emperor. Perhaps the leader of your country reminds you of Palpatine; maybe the opposition seems like the Resistance.” The dark side, the centralizing authoritarian order, exerts an attraction on us. But we have the freedom to resist—and Lucca’s heart is with freedom, not with the tyranny of the masses. In his own words, “Everybody has the choice of being a hero or not being a hero every day of their lives. And you can either help somebody, you can be compassionate toward people, or you can treat some people with dignity or not.”