Foundation

“Even if the Empire were admitted to be a bad thing (an admission I do not make), the state of anarchy which would follow its fall would be worse. It is that state of anarchy which my project is pledged to fight. The fall of Empire, gentlemen, is a massive thing, however, and not easily fought.”

Under questioning at his trial for treason, Hari Seldon declares that he cannot prevent the fall of the Empire but can reduce the period of anarchy that follows. Here, Asimov explicitly proposes that the continuity of human civilization is an innate good, while also proposing that the cyclical decline of empire is inevitable.

“‘I, as Mayor of Terminus City, have just enough power to blow my own nose and perhaps to sneeze if you countersign an order giving me permission. It’s up to you and your Board then. I’m asking you in the name of the City, whose prosperity depends upon uninterrupted commerce with the Galaxy, to call an emergency meeting—’

‘Stop! A campaign speech is out of order.’”

This quote exemplifies the power struggle between Mayor Hardin and the Foundation’s Board. The Board seeks to curtail any attempt by Hardin to influence their decisions and exhibit real power, even interrupting Hardin’s somewhat sarcastic beseeching. This moment also foreshadows the eventual reversal of this dynamic, when Hardin’s figurehead status transforms into real authority.

“‘You’ll excuse me—’ Pirenne looked after him and gritted through his teeth: ‘That insufferable, dull-witted donkey! That—’

Hardin broke in: ‘Not at all. He’s merely the product of his environment. He doesn’t understand much except that “I have a gun and you haven’t.’”

Mayor Hardin understands far better than scholar Pirenne that the nearby planetary system of Anacreon means not to protect Terminus but to conquer it. Hardin also hints that he has the situation in hand, and that the envoy can be played—another example of the distinction between pure intellectuals and the hard-nosed politicians who protect them, sometimes thanklessly.

“Hardin, as he sat at the foot of the table, speculated idly as to just what it was that made physical scientists such poor administrators. It might be merely that they were too used to inflexible fact and far too unused to pliable people.”

The mayor knows that scientists often don’t know nor care how to protect themselves from politics. Though the Foundation exists for the political purpose of saving galactic culture from the coming anarchy, its scholars perform best when isolated from the difficult and sometimes dangerous political system. Thus, Hardin’s job is to protect the Foundation’s scholars so they do not have to navigate this system.

“What kind of science is it to be stuck out here for centuries classifying the work of scientists of the last millennium? Have you ever thought of working onward, extending their knowledge and improving upon it? No! You’re quite happy to stagnate. The whole Galaxy is, and has been for space knows how long.”

Mayor Hardin reproaches the Foundation Board of Trustees for passively chronicling the existing science and technology of the galaxy. He accuses them of suffering from the same intellectual ennui as that which is causing the Empire to fall apart. He reminds them that the entire point of the Foundation is to keep alive the spirit of discovery, not merely to memorialize its demise.

“‘I don’t see, Hardin,’ [Yohan Lee] said, ‘that we need waste any time. They can’t do anything till next election—legally, anyway—and that gives us a year. Give them the brush-off.’

Hardin pursed his lips. ‘Lee, you’ll never learn. In the forty years I’ve known you, you’ve never once learned the gentle art of sneaking up from behind.’”

Part of Mayor Hardin’s greatness is his subtlety. The Foundation scholars and staff whom he protects tend to speak and act naively, preferring the simplicity of truth to the complexity of diplomacy. This trait makes them great thinkers but poor politicians, and exemplifies Asimov’s thematic exploration of political subtlety.

“It is remarkable, Hardin, how the religion of science has grabbed hold. I’ve written an essay on the subject […] Treating the problem sociologically, it would seem that when the old Empire began to rot at the fringes, it could be considered that science, as science, had failed the outer worlds. To be reaccepted it would have to present itself in another guise—and it has done just that. It works out beautifully.”

Ambassador Verisof, a high priest of the new religion promoted by the Foundation, knows very well that the creed is a sham to protect science and technology. Here, Asimov maintains a secular, scholastic investigation of the influence of religion on mass populations and its role in defining civilization.

“Seldon wanted us to proceed blindly—and therefore correctly—according to the law of mob psychology. As I once told you, I never knew where we were heading when I first drove out the Anacreonians. My idea had been to maintain balance of power, no more than that. It was only afterward that I thought I saw a pattern in events; but I’ve done my level best not to act on that knowledge. Interference due to foresight would have knocked the Plan out of kilter.”

This quote by Hardin directly references the uncertainty principle. Psychohistory makes predictions based on the collective actions of masses of people. If individuals make decisions from what they know of the Foundation’s Plan, it could knock the future off course. The best decision is to wait until no options remain save one, even if waiting appears to be dangerous.

“‘You oughtn’t to call me a fool and you oughtn’t to sit in my presence, anyway. You haven’t asked my permission. I think you ought to be careful, or I might do something about it—pretty soon.’

Wienis’s gaze was cold. ‘May I refer to you as “your majesty”?’

‘Yes.’

‘Very well! You are a fool, your majesty!’”

Lepold’s flimsy attempt to gain respect from Wienis belies his naïveté in thinking that signs of respect are the same as actual respect. Lepold knows that Wienis might have had his father killed but he has neither the courage nor the brainpower to maneuver himself to safety. Wienis’s hubris with Lepold ironically foreshadows his defeat by Hardin’s more subtle power maneuvers.

“The religion—which the Foundation has fostered and encouraged, mind you—is built on strictly authoritarian lines. The priesthood has sole control of the instruments of science we have given Anacreon, but they’ve learned to handle these tools only empirically. They believe in this religion entirely, and in the…uh…spiritual value of the power they handle.”

Hardin commandeers the loyalty of foreign populations by using the human propensity to worship as a lever of power that keeps their infrastructures in his hands and throttles their leaders’ schemes to dominate the Foundation. This means the Action Party’s campaign to arm Terminus and attack frontier planets will fail because there’s no need for it, again emphasizing Asimov’s nonviolent approach to maintaining power.

“It is the intention of your commander to take this ship to the Foundation and there to bombard that source of all blessings into submission to his sinful will. And since that is his intention, I, in the name of the Galactic Spirit, remove him from his command, for there is no command where the blessing of the Galactic Spirit has been withdrawn.”

High-ranking Foundation priest Theo Aporat warns the crew of the giant warship Wienis that their mission is a sacrilege and must be halted. That the crew obeys him speaks to the enormous influence of the Foundation’s religion. This religion also protects both the Foundation and client planets from the damages of war.

“In their anxiety to cement forever domination over their own people, the kings of the Four Kingdoms accepted the religion of science that made them divine; and that same religion of science was their bridle and saddle, for it placed the life blood of nuclear power in the hands of the priesthood—who took their orders from us, be it noted, and not from you.”

Hardin explains to Anacreon’s leaders that, while scheming to use Foundation’s generous gift of technology to conquer it, they fell into its trap and now must serve the Foundation’s interests. Asimov’s allusion to one of Aesop’s Fables in this crucial moment emphasizes his portrayal of the importance of the continuity of human culture.

“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right!”

This pithy expression suggests that sometimes a leader must break the rules to save them. The quote, cited decades later by a Trader whose unethical scheming protects the Foundation, comes originally from Terminus City founding mayor Salvor Hardin, who engineered a political coup that saved the Foundation from destruction. His actions were unethical by one code of conduct but vitally necessary under a higher standard.

“There’s something about a pious man such as he. He will cheerfully cut your throat if it suits him, but he will hesitate to endanger the welfare of your immaterial and problematical soul. It’s just a piece of empirical psychology. A trader has to know a little of everything.”

Limmar Ponyets, a member of the trading guild and at one time a priest trainee in the Foundation religion, notes that even pious people are human first and religious second. This gives an advantage to anyone, devout or otherwise, with the sense to appreciate even truths unflattering to the human race.

“‘In fact—and this is in the strictest of confidence—it may be another one of Hari Seldo’’s crises.’ […] ‘Don’t know about that, Sutt. As a general rule, politicians start shouting ‘Seldon crisis’ at every mayoralty campaign.’”

Master Trader Hober Mallow’s cynical reply to Sutt’s worry contains two interesting implications. First, wise Foundation leaders understand that a Seldon Crisis will dictate events and decisions—the leader will know it when he sees it. Second, traders now are consulted at a high level by the Foundation, which means that, though still stable, the Plan is evolving.

“I was born in Smyrno, and I’m not ashamed of either Smyrno or Smyrnians, by the Galaxy. Your sly little hints of treason aren’t going to panic me into licking Foundation spittle. And now you can either give your orders or make your accusations. I don’t care which.”

Trader Mallow has no fear of the vaunted Foundation or its employees, and he’s not about to quail at some Terminus official making insinuations about his patriotism. For this reason, and because of his great trading skills, Mallow is both the Foundation’s best candidate for sniffing out the nuclear weapons smugglers and the chief suspect in the hunt. The Foundation plays a double game by both employing Mallow and monitoring him.

“Any fool can tell a crisis when it arrives. The real service to the state is to detect it in embryo.”

Mayoral secretary Sutt, the real power of the Foundation, believes in identifying problems before they arise—not unlike Hari Seldon. This would make him a great leader except that if threatens to prevent the crises Seldon predicts are necessary to the continuance of civilization. Sutt’s nemesis, Hober Mallow, prefers a more passive strategy better suited to the Foundation’s goals.

“You had those rednecked oxen planted in their seats, then put them in your shirtpocket and walked off with them. And you’re all right with the Foundation masses, too. You’ve got glamour—or, at any rate, solid adventure-publicity, which is the same thing.”

Trader Twer both compliments Mallow for his public speaking abilities and tries to manipulate him in much the same way that Mallow manipulated an audience of political activists. This quote also indicates the increasing politicization and bureaucracy of the Foundation.

“‘The future course of the Foundation was plotted according to the science of psychohistory, then highly developed, and conditions arranged so as to bring about a series of crises that will force us most rapidly along the route to future Empire. Each crisis, each Seldon crisis, marks an epoch in our history. We’re approaching one now—our third.’

Twer shrugged. ‘I suppose this was mentioned in school, but I’ve been out of school a long time—longer than you.’

‘I suppose so. Forget it.’”

Those educated at Terminus learn that Seldon Crises were predicted by Hari Seldon decades earlier, and that they serve as turning points in the Foundation’s Plan. Twer does not know what a Seldon Crisis is, which puzzles Mallow and hints at Twer’s real identity as a spy.

“Korell is that frequent phenomenon in history: the republic whose ruler has every attribute of the absolute monarch but the name. It therefore enjoyed the usual despotism unrestrained even by those two moderating influences in the legitimate monarchies: regal ‘honor’ and court etiquette.”

The Foundation must deal with a Korellian regime somewhat like itself, in the respect that its ruler does things indirectly which gives him greater leeway, both to negotiate and to be a tyrant. The Foundation cares only that far-flung planets recover their technology, even as it risks recreating the bureaucratic and political flaws of previous civilizations.

“Lieutenant Tinter murmured rebelliously, ‘Seven days without action. You can’t maintain discipline that way.’

Mallow said icily, ‘I can. There’s no merit in discipline under ideal circumstances. I’ll have it in the face of death, or it’s useless.’”

Mallow’s spaceship crew, stranded on Korell during a political stalemate, grows impatient and violates one of the captain’s strict orders. Mallow punishes several crewmembers and reminds Tinter that obedience is for tough situations, not easy ones. Mallow displays the ideal discipline for a Foundation leader endeavoring to maintain Seldon’s Plan.

“Now any dogma, primarily based on faith and emotionalism, is a dangerous weapon to use on others, since it is almost impossible to guarantee that the weapon will never be turned on the user. For a hundred years now, we’ve supported a ritual and mythology that is becoming more and more venerable, traditional—and immovable. In some ways, it isn’t under our control any more.”

The Foundation has relied on its made-up religion to protect technology from anarchy by instilling religious awe in the minds of those who benefit from it. Asimov posits that faith, however, moves with a force of its own. Ankor Jael warns Hober Mallow that Secretary Sutt may try to redirect the Foundation religion for his own purposes. This observation comes at a crucial moment in Foundation history, as economic trade replaces religion as the dominant motivating force of politics.

“They’ll send their sons out in unlimited numbers to die horribly on broken spaceships. They’ll bear up under enemy bombardment, if it means they have to live on stale bread and foul water in caves half a mile deep. But it’s very hard to bear up under little things when the patriotic uplift of imminent danger is not present. It’s going to be a stalemate. There will be no casualties, no bombardments, no battles. There will just be a knife that won’t cut, and a stove that won’t cook, and a house that freezes in the winter. It will be annoying, and people will grumble.”

Mallow explains to Sutt that war isn’t necessary if kingdoms depend on their opponents for goods and services. People simply can’t shoot their vendors. If, during a conflict, nothing gets serviced and supplies run out, factions will spring up opposed to the government’s hostile policies.