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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mannahnin" data-source="post: 8464654" data-attributes="member: 7026594">GW as a young, upstart company in the 80s was full of (though not necessarily entirely comprised of) anti-Thatcher lefties, and Rogue Trader's totalitarian Imperium of Man was indeed originally satirical. Of Thatcher and British authoritarianism (leaning toward fascism, in the eyes of the writers), not just of the Soviets or the Nazis.  Though absolutely, elements like the Commissars were directly borrowed from the Soviets, and their uniforms modeled off Nazis.The original fluff had Space Marines more clearly shown as indoctrinated cannon fodder (though to a lesser extent than the Imperial Guard), and art would often show them dying in blackly comic ways.As GW grew and started getting kids as an audience/customers in the 90s, they toned down the adult satire a bit and tried to kind of play it both ways.  Making the Imperial propaganda MORE true about Space Marines being heroic defenders of humanity, while still keeping the fact that it was a fascistic totalitarian society clear when you read between the lines.  In-character quotes like "An open mind is like a like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded" are not exactly subtle, though maybe above the heads of some junior high kids.  Or the "typical daily schedule of a Space Marine" from the 3rd ed Codex, showing their absurdly rigorous monastic/military routine at home in the chapter monastery with something like 4 hours of sleep and 15 minutes of "free time" (which some chapters don't allow, considering it soft and a chance for corruption and laxity).Part of the point of the setting is that there are no good guys, per se.  Everyone's brutal, humanity is in such a desperate state that this insanely awful society might be our only means of survival (though probably not), every faction has reasons for fighting every other faction, and the galaxy-wide dystopia works as a wargame setting.</blockquote>

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