Evolution of social norms on Planet Wooh

Social norms evolve over time. Social groups coalesce around common identity. This identity can be based on common motives, shared values, an accepted division of labour, status or the development of accepted sanctions. The initial grouping was based on a combination of shared values and accepted division of labour. It was expected that the different social groups in the colony would coalesce around a common motive – survival. As long-term survival became a reality, the colony’s unifying motive lost impact. The colonists evolved.

It is still early days for Planet Wooh so it is possible to trace the evolution of the current social groups from those originally created by the founders. The administrators quickly assumed roles that were either managerial or service-orientated. The managerial group retained the essence of the founders and formed Whanau-House while the remainder felt relegated in status and became the Narseh. The scientists retained their obsession with discovery. The split was could be analogised with teaching knowledge (the Cartesia) versus finding knowledge (the Magellan).
The evolution of the judges was a little more complex than the others. Judges impose sanctions to ensure societal norms are followed. They are inherently a value-based group. As expected, over time, values change and smaller groups form. Normally, while the values differ, the groups are secular (the Cornucopia are an example of this). Planet Wooh though, due to the prevalent purple haze, developed two semi-religious groups – the Pishar and the Xenon. The Pishar is based on kinship and the Xenon are focused on tradition.

The final group, the merchants, evolved fairly simply into three main groups based on status. The Whenah and the Hypatos are both concerned with developing strong trade networks. They are more closely split along status with the Whenah a small elite class of ‘merchant princes’ and the Hypatos closer to a middle class. The Cosair are the under-class and can be likened to the Sicilian mafia of the old-world.