Star Wars is not a Rebellion

I am frequently angered by the poor world building of the Rebellion in the Star Wars universe. Even t he Empire is problematic, but I won’t dwell on it here. My primary grievance is that real rebellions, real insurgencies, are only possible because of The Vision. This is the end state that the rebels want to achieve. The raw recruit may join up over local grievances or other mundane reasons, but once indoctrinated they will have accepted a world view filtered through The Vision. Examples of The Vision abound in real life: “United Ireland,” “Communism,” “Liberty from colonialism,” “The one true Religion,” etc. etc. In Star Wars, there is no Vision.

The Vision is the reason that the rebellion exists. It is what unites the rebel group, the cause of fractures and splits when different segments can’t agree on the specifics of The Vision, or can’t agree on the strategy/tactics to achieve it. Essentially, The Vision is the critical load bearing pillar of a rebellion:

The Star Wars Rebellion is best defined by the complete and total absence of a Vision. The closest the movies come to articulating a Vision is essentially “we are against the Empire.” That is not a sustainable Vision because it is defined in negative terms rather than positive sentiment, and it doesn’t provide a reason to remain in the Rebel Alliance after the Empire is defeated.

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